Airline Pilot Central Forums - JetBlue Announces Fourth Quarter and Full Year 2006 Results

JetBlue Announces Fourth Quarter and Full Year 2006 Results
Low-Fare Airline Achieves 10.2 Percent Operating Margin for Fourth Quarter 2006
NEW YORK, Jan. 30, 2007 (PRIME NEWSWIRE) -- JetBlue Airways Corporation (Nasdaq:JBLU) today reported its results for the fourth quarter and full year 2006:

* Operating revenues for the quarter totaled $633 million,
representing growth of 42.1% over operating revenues of $446 million
in the fourth quarter of 2005. For the full year, operating revenues
totaled $2.36 billion, representing growth of 38.9% over operating
revenues of $1.70 billion for the full year 2005.

* Operating income for the quarter was $64 million, resulting in a
10.2% operating margin, compared to an operating loss of $31 million
and a negative 7.1% operating margin in the fourth quarter of 2005.
For the full year 2006, operating income was $127 million, resulting
in an operating margin of 5.4%. This compares with operating income
of $48 million and a 2.8% operating margin for the full year 2005.

* Pre-tax income for the quarter was $30 million, compared with a
pre-tax loss of $55 million in the year-ago period. For the full
year, pre-tax income was $9 million, compared with a pre-tax loss
of $24 million for the full year 2005.

* Net income for the quarter was $17 million, representing
earnings of $0.10 per diluted share, compared with fourth quarter
2005 net loss of $42 million, or a loss of $0.25 per diluted
share. For the full year 2006, net loss totaled $1 million, or
$0.00 per diluted share, compared with a net loss of $20 million,
or a loss of $0.13 per diluted share, for the full year 2005.

"I'm tremendously proud of the efforts our crewmembers have made in advancing our plan to institutionalize low-cost carrier spending habits and improve revenue overall -- we've made great progress since the beginning of 2006," said David Neeleman, JetBlue's Chairman and CEO. "We are optimistic about what lies ahead as we seek to further improve our financial and operating performance."

During the fourth quarter of 2006, JetBlue achieved a completion factor of 99.6% of scheduled flights versus 98.9% in the fourth quarter of 2005. On-time performance, defined by the US Department of Transportation as arrivals within 14 minutes of schedule, was 68.4% in the fourth quarter of 2006 compared to 70.9% for the same period in 2005. For the full year 2006, JetBlue achieved a completion factor of 99.5%, compared to 99.2% in the full year 2005. On-time performance for the full year 2006 was 72.8%, compared to 71.4% for the full year 2005. The company attained a load factor in the fourth quarter of 2006 of 79.7%, a decrease of 1.4 points on a capacity increase of 14.5% over the fourth quarter of 2005. Load factor for the full year 2006 was 81.6%, a decrease of 3.6 points on a capacity increase of 20.6%.

Dave Barger, JetBlue's President and COO, commented, "The JetBlue team, now 11,000 strong, rose to the occasion and met the difficult operational and financial challenges of 2006. The creativity and innovation of our crewmemebers positions us well for 2007, a year in which we plan to grow capacity eleven to fourteen percent, while continuing to enhance the JetBlue Experience."

For the fourth quarter, yield per passenger mile was 10.21 cents, up 25.0% compared to 2005. Operating revenue per available seat mile (RASM) increased 24.1% year-over-year to 8.71 cents. Revenue passenger miles increased 12.4% from the fourth quarter of 2005 to 5.8 billion. Available seat miles (ASMs) grew 14.5% to 7.3 billion. Operating expenses for the fourth quarter were $569 million, up 19.1% from the fourth quarter of 2005. Operating expense per ASM (CASM) for the fourth quarter 2006 increased 4.1% year-over-year to 7.82 cents, while average stage length decreased 17.9%. Excluding fuel, CASM increased 2.3% to 5.24 cents. During the quarter, realized fuel price was $1.92 per gallon, a 2.8% increase over fourth quarter 2005 realized fuel price of $1.87. JetBlue ended the fourth quarter and full year with $699 million in cash and investment securities.

Looking ahead, for the first quarter of 2007, JetBlue expects to report an operating margin between two and four percent based on an assumed aircraft fuel cost per gallon of $1.91, net of hedges. Pre-tax margin for the quarter is expected to be between negative four and negative two percent. CASM is expected to increase between six and eight percent over the year-ago period. Excluding fuel, CASM in the first quarter is expected to increase between four and six percent year over year. Capacity is expected to increase between 14 and 16 percent in the first quarter and stage length is expected to decrease roughly 14 percent over the same period last year.

For the full year 2007, JetBlue expects to report an operating margin between 10 and 12 percent based on an assumed aircraft fuel cost per gallon of $1.93, net of hedges. Pre-tax margin for the full year is expected to be between five and seven percent. CASM for the full year is expected to increase between five and seven percent over full year 2006. Excluding fuel, CASM in 2007 is expected to increase between seven and nine percent year over year. Capacity for the full year 2007 is expected to increase between 11 and 14 percent over 2006 and stage length is expected to decrease roughly seven percent over full year 2006. The CASM and ex-fuel CASM guidance in both the first quarter and full year includes the impact of the reduction in seats on JetBlue's A320 aircraft from 156 to 150 seats per aircraft.