JetBlue eyes travel rebound with new business class
Last week, Southwest, American and JetBlue reported losing a combined $3.5B in the final three months of 2020
JetBlue CEO Robin Hayes discusses what his company is doing to increase passengers’ confidence in flying and the challenges facing travelers, such as required quarantines in different countries and some of the U.S.
JetBlue rebooted its business class known as Mint on Monday, hoping for a rebound with trans-Atlantic travel after the pandemic created a dismal year in flights and sales.
“Mint was an idea to make premium travel across the U.S. less stuffy and more affordable, and its performance has exceeded even our most optimistic expectations of going beyond New York, Los Angeles and San Francisco,” said Joanna Geraghty, president and chief operating officer, JetBlue. “It’s remarkable how Mint’s thoughtful design has resonated with customers as we successfully grew it to more than 30 routes. We put our heart into this redesign of Mint and were inspired by our original vision of offering customers an exceptional experience at a lower fare – which is what JetBlue is all about.”
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Launching this summer to London, using new Airbus A321LR planes, the new business class features 24 private suites with a sliding door for every Mint customer and countless residential-inspired design touches such as a custom-designed seat cushion that provides luxurious comfort for travelers.
The airline is also introducing Mint Studio offering more space than any other American airline. Each aircraft will have two studios in the first row providing ample room for working or relaxing.
All the spaces were designed with special privacy dividers, as all-private suites have become the new travel luxury.
Airlines are looking past spring and hoping that as more people are vaccinated against COVID-19, carriers can salvage something from the peak summer vacation season.
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Last week, Southwest, American and JetBlue reported that they lost a combined $3.5 billion in the final three months of the year. All issued dismal revenue outlooks for the current quarter that echoed similar pessimism from Delta, United and Alaska, which posted financial results earlier.
| Ticker | Security | Last | Change | Change % |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| JBLU | JETBLUE AIRWAYS CORP. | 5.71 | -0.06 | -1.04% |
| LUV | SOUTHWEST AIRLINES CO. | 29.91 | -0.70 | -2.29% |
| AAL | AMERICAN AIRLINES GROUP INC. | 12.99 | -0.55 | -4.06% |
| DAL | DELTA AIR LINES INC. | 56.89 | -1.50 | -2.57% |
| ALK | ALASKA AIR GROUP INC. | 47.23 | -2.00 | -4.06% |
| UAL | UNITED AIRLINES HOLDINGS INC. | 77.25 | -3.21 | -3.99% |
JetBlue reported a loss of $381 million, after reporting a profit in the fourth quarter of 2019. The New York-based airline said its adjusted loss was $1.53 per share, compared with the average forecast loss of $1.72 per share in the Zacks survey.
For the year, JetBlue lost $1.36 billion.
JetBlue shares were nearly unchanged on the news Monday.