JetBlue steps up cost cuts on weaker-than-expected travel demand

By Mary Schlangenstein, Bloomberg

JetBlue Airways Corp. plans to hasten cost cuts by eliminating some flights, ending service to a number of cities and restructuring its leadership ranks as economic uncertainty feeds weaker-than-expected demand for travel, the company said in an internal memo.

The carrier will eliminate underperforming routes and plans to announce network changes in coming weeks, according to the memo from Chief Executive Officer Joanna Geraghty seen by Bloomberg on Tuesday.

JetBlue implemented budget reductions at support centers and is assessing hiring, spending on business partners and vendors and will combine or restructure some leadership roles. The carrier has halted cosmetic refreshes of four out of its 10 legacy Airbus A320 aircraft used for flights and will park the planes at the end of summer.

“We’re hopeful demand and bookings will rebound, but even a recovery won’t fully offset the ground we’ve lost this year and our path back to profitability will take longer than we’d hoped,” Geraghty said. “That means we’re still relying on borrowed cash to keep the airline running.”

The warning shows the challenges facing Geraghty’s effort to restructure JetBlue after two failed attempts to partner with other carriers and return it to profitability. The airline has pulled back to its original route focus on the northeastern US and along the East Coast, areas hit hard by the demand slowdown. It joined other US carriers in withdrawing its full-year financial outlook in April.

JetBlue already had trimmed capacity for the first half of this year on the slowdown and had reduced operations in 20 cities.

The dour outlook follows comments from some other carriers in recent weeks that while domestic demand had stabilized, it was at lower levels than carriers expected at the start of the year. Travel collapsed in early 2025 over concern about trade wars linked to US President Donald Trump’s tariff policies.