JetBlue sees return to profitability delayed by flight woes

DALLAS (AP) — JetBlue Airways said Tuesday that it lost $255 million in the first quarter, and widespread flight cancellations in April plus the need to hire and train more pilots will delay the company's return to profitability.

New York-based JetBlue said it would further reduce its schedule this summer to limit delays and cancellations.

The shares fell more than 9% in morning trading.

Like other airlines that have reported financial results this month, JetBlue said demand for tickets is strong and fares are rising — the average first-quarter fare was 31% higher than a year ago — as consumers continued to return to travel after two years of pandemic.

But JetBlue struggled in April, canceling 10% of its flights. The company blamed its problems on an increase in pilots leaving, bad weather in Florida and New York, air-traffic control delays and other factors.

The pilots' union has heaped some of the blame on the airline's chief of systems operations. A union official said the airline's reputation has suffered as customers endure canceled flights and the airline mishandles pilot scheduling.

CEO Robin Hayes said JetBlue is a victim of a pilot shortage affecting the entire industry.

“We continue to experience elevated levels of pilot attrition and training pressure,” he told analysts.

Hayes said JetBlue will further trim planned growth in its summer schedule “to get the operation back on track,” and that will delay JetBlue’s return to profitability until the second half of this year. JetBlue previously said it would cut its May schedule by up to 10%.

The airline said its adjusted loss was 80 cents per share, slightly better than the loss of 85 cents per share forecast by analysts in a FactSet survey. Revenue more than doubled from a year earlier, to $1.74 billion.

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