JetBlue Posts $257 Million Third-Quarter Loss as Fuel Costs Jump 61%
JetBlue lost $257 million in the third quarter of 2026 as fuel costs jumped 61% and expenses outpaced a 21.1% rise in revenue, and the airline cut its full-year margin outlook.
JetBlue Airways reported a net loss of $257 million for the third quarter of 2026, wider than the $143 million loss in the same quarter a year earlier, even as revenue rose 21.1% to $2.812 billion, according to its October 26 results covered by Airways Magazine.
Operating expenses rose 22.1% to $2.956 billion, and the operating loss widened to $144 million from $100 million a year earlier. Fuel expense rose 61% to $868 million. The average fare rose 19.2% to $245.11, while the load factor, the share of available seat miles filled by paying passengers, fell 1.5 percentage points to 83.6%.
Outlook and premium push
On an adjusted basis, JetBlue lost $0.60 per share, against a Zacks consensus estimate of a $0.55 loss, and revenue of $2.81 billion missed the consensus estimate by 0.57%, according to Zacks. JetBlue cut its full-year outlook: it now forecasts an adjusted operating margin between negative 6.5% and negative 4.5%, down from the negative 5% to negative 2% range it gave in July.
For the fourth quarter, JetBlue expects unit revenue to rise 18% to 22% from a year earlier. Its premium push moved ahead in the quarter: the airline opened BlueFirst bookings on October 15 for more than 30 routes, with the first flight planned for December 8 from Boston to Fort Lauderdale. In Fort Lauderdale, unit revenue rose nearly 15% in the quarter even as capacity grew by more than 65%.
Reporting based on coverage by Airways Magazine and Zacks.
