JetBlue Reports Impressive June 2015 Traffic Numbers
Market Realist By Ally Schmidt 22 minutes ago
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US Airline Industry: Analyzing June 2015 Performance Indicators
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Overview
JetBlue Airways (JBLU) is a leading low-cost carrier service that provides service to 89 cities in the US, Caribbean, and Latin America. The traffic report for June 2015 saw its capacity grow by 8%. This was accompanied by a strong 8.8% growth in traffic from 3.25 billion to 3.5 billion from June 2014. JetBlue’s traffic growth also marginally improved its load factor by 0.6% to stand at 85.3%. Its completion factor was 99%, and its on-time performance was 78.1% for the month.
JetBlue Airways recorded the highest traffic and capacity growth among the six major airlines: Alaska Airlines (ALK), Southwest Airlines (LUV), Delta Air Lines (DAL), United Continental (UAL), and American Airlines (AAL). JBLU forms a 1.46% holding of the iShares Transportation Average ETF (IYT).
June 2015 numbers show broad-based growth
JetBlue Airways’ traffic and capacity growth weren’t the airline’s only highlights in June. The airline saw growth across all its key indicators. The airline’s revenue passenger miles (or RPM) grew by 8.8% year-over-year, backed by a 8% year-over-year growth in capacity.
The airline’s travel demand also saw healthy growth, as revenue passengers also grew by a strong 8.1% year-over-year. The PRASM value saw a marginal decline of ~1% year-over-year, evident throughout the industry due to pressure on ticket prices.
A strong half year
JetBlue has had a good first half of the year, as is evident from its YTD numbers. For the first six months of 2015, JetBlue generated 20.09 billion revenue passenger miles and 23.65 billion available seat miles (or ASM), which were up by 9.8% and 8.5% year-over-year, respectively. The load factor increased to 84.9% for the same timeframe.
Baggage fees introduced
For all customers that book the lowest Blue fare flights, JetBlue Airways started charging checked bag fees of $20 for a one-way trip. These charges are expected to add to the company’s revenues. These fees can be avoided by booking the Blue Plus tickets, which would cost about $15 more.
Starts services on New York–Havana routes
In December 2014, the Obama administration announced its decision to ease travel restrictions to Cuba. JetBlue Airways became the first carrier to operate direct charter flights on the New York–Havana route.
