NEW YORK, March 6, 2006 (PRIMEZONE) -- JetBlue Airways Corporation (Nasdaq:JBLU) reported today that its traffic in February increased 25.3 percent from February 2005, on a capacity increase of 25.1 percent.
Load factor for February 2006 was 83.4 percent, an increase of 0.1 points from February 2005. JetBlue's preliminary completion factor was 97.2 percent and its on-time(2) performance was 62.5 percent. JetBlue's operating performance for the month was adversely impacted by a blizzard that hit the Northeast over the weekend of February 11, resulting in the cancellation of 297 flights.
JETBLUE AIRWAYS TRAFFIC RESULTS
February 2006 February 2005 % Change
Revenue passenger
miles (000) 1,685,746 1,345,863 25.3
Available seat miles
(000) 2,021,874 1,615,853 25.1
Load factor 83.4% 83.3% 0.1 pts.
Revenue passengers 1,325,052 1,035,177 28.0
Departures 10,586 7,995 32.4
Y-T-D 2006 Y-T-D 2005 % Change
Revenue passenger
miles (000) 3,476,725 2,776,989 25.2
Available seat
miles (000) 4,196,967 3,325,953 26.2
Load factor 82.8% 83.5% (0.7) pts.
Revenue passengers 2,704,164 2,114,663 27.9
Departures 21,782 16,402 32.8
SOURCE: JetBlue Airways Corporation
JetBlue Airways is a low-fare airline based in New York City that operates 410 flights daily to 34 destinations. JetBlue offers customers roomy leather seats with 36 channels of free DIRECTV(r)(1) programming, the most live television offered by any airline. On flights longer than two hours, the airline also features a selection of first-run movies and bonus features from FOX InFlight. Customers enjoy brand name snacks and beverages, including freshly brewed Dunkin' Donuts coffee and fine wines selected by JetBlue's "Low Fare Sommelier," Joshua Wesson, founder of Best Cellars. With JetBlue, all seats are assigned, all travel is ticketless, all fares are one-way and an overnight stay is never required. For information or reservations call 1-800-JETBLUE (1-800-538-2583) or visit www.jetblue.com.
(1) DIRECTV(r) service is not available on flights to Bermuda, Puerto Rico or the Dominican Republic; however, FOX InFlight is offered complimentary to these destinations on flights of two hours or more. FOX InFlight is a trademark of Twentieth Century Fox Film Corporation. JetBlue's in-flight entertainment is powered by LiveTV, a wholly owned subsidiary of JetBlue.
The JetBlue logo is available at: http://www.primezone.com/newsroom/prs/?pkgid=795
This press release contains statements of a forward-looking nature which represent our management's beliefs and assumptions concerning future events. Forward-looking statements involve risks, uncertainties and assumptions, and are based on information currently available to us. Actual results may differ materially from those expressed in the forward looking statements due to many factors, including, without limitation, our extremely competitive industry; increases in fuel prices, maintenance costs and interest rates; our ability to implement our growth strategy, including the integration of the EMBRAER 190 aircraft into our operations; our significant fixed obligations; our ability to attract and retain qualified personnel and maintain our culture as we grow; our reliance on high daily aircraft utilization; our dependence on the New York metropolitan market; our reliance on automated systems and technology our reliance on a limited number of suppliers; changes in or additional government regulation; changes in our industry due to other airlines' financial condition; and external geopolitical events and conditions. Further information concerning these and other factors is contained in the Company's Securities and Exchange Commission filings, including but not limited to, the Company's 2005 Annual Report on Form 10-K and Quarterly Reports on Form 10-Q. We undertake no obligation to update any forward-looking statements to reflect events or circumstances that may arise after the date of this release.
(2) The U.S. Department of Transportation considers on-time arrivals to be those domestic flights arriving within 14 minutes of schedule.