JetBlue reviewing expansion
New leaders aim for a turnaround, will evaluate fleet size and market, drop growth forecast to 10-13%
BY JAMES BERNSTEIN
[email protected]
June 15, 2007
The new day-to-day leadership at JetBlue Airways Corp. is beginning to make itself felt, revealing to analysts that the low-cost carrier intends to take a new and a hard look at its expansion plans over the next two months in an effort to make a turnaround.
At a Merrill Lynch conference in Manhattan on Wednesday, JetBlue's new chief executive, David Barger, told analysts that the Forest Hills-based carrier will evaluate the need for the airplanes it has already ordered and the 16 new markets it added last year. The company is aiming to create the best match it can between expansion and profitability, he said.
Barger told analysts that JetBlue now plans growth of 10 percent to 13 percent this year, a decline from 20 percent growth forecast earlier this year. JetBlue also may shed more airplanes. The airline is slated to take delivery of 44 planes in 2007. But that number may no longer fit the airline's evolving model, analysts said.
"I think it's premature to say any meaningful changes are in store," Barger told analysts at a transportation conference. "But let me caveat and say that everything is on the table."
Originally Posted by Newsday
JetBlue reviewing expansion
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