JetBlue's loss deepens as coronavirus devastates air travel

JetBlue Airways Corp.'s loss widened this spring as the COVID-19 pandemic grounded flights and stay-at-home orders eliminated non-essential travel.

The Long Island City, New York-based air carrier lost $320 million, or an adjusted $2.02 a share, in the three months through June as total operating revenue plunged 90 percent from a year ago to $215 million.

“In the past two months, we made progress in reducing our cash burn, and have been quick to resize our operations to the very dynamic demand environment,” CEO Robin Hayes said in a statement. “While demand has improved materially from the lows we saw in April, bookings remain choppy, and we remain focused on addressing changing trends as we progress through the summer.”

During the quarter, the airline slashed operating expenses by 66 percent, helping to reduce costs by $900 million. JetBlue slashed its capacity by 85 percent year-over-year, lowering its average daily cash burn to $9.5 million for the quarter and to just less than $8 million by the end of June.

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"We continue to manage through this fluid environment with a near-term focus on preserving liquidity," CFO Steve Priest said in the statement. "Just as importantly, we are positioning JetBlue to thrive as we emerge from the pandemic."

The company last month raised $750 million through a term loan backed in part by its terminal slots at JFK, Laguardia and Washington Reagan airports and another $120 million in sale-leaseback transactions.

JetBlue, which had $3.4 billion in liquidity at the end of the second quarter after receiving aid through the Cares Act, expects to burn an average of $7 million to $9 million a day in the three months through September.

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Shares were down 45 percent this year through Monday, lagging the S&P 500's 0.27 percent gain.