JetBlue Airways (NASDAQ:JBLU) reported a challenging end to 2025, posting a fourth-quarter net loss of $177 million on Tuesday.
The New York-based carrier saw its adjusted loss widen to $0.49 per share, missing the $0.45 loss consensus expected by Wall Street analysts.
Despite the bottom-line miss, revenue for the period reached $2.24 billion, slightly exceeding forecasts and reflecting resilient travel demand during the holiday season.
The results highlight the "uphill climb" facing CEO Joanna Geraghty as she enters her second year leading the airline’s JetForward turnaround strategy.
While the initiative delivered $305 million in incremental earnings for 2025—surpassing the company's own $290 million target—those gains were largely offset by a 3.7% spike in operating expenses.
A key culprit was a 6.7% rise in non-fuel unit costs (CASM ex-fuel), driven by labor inflation and persistent maintenance issues with Pratt & Whitney GTF engines that have left portions of the fleet grounded.
To combat these cost pressures, JetBlue is aggressively pivoting away from its "value-only" roots.
Management confirmed that the airline will introduce its first domestic first-class cabin in 2026, featuring 2x2 seating on a significant portion of its non-Mint fleet.
This move, combined with the opening of new lounges at New York-JFK and Boston Logan, is intended to capture high-margin business and leisure travelers.
For the full year 2026, JetBlue issued an optimistic forecast, targeting breakeven or better adjusted operating margins.
The airline expects capacity to increase by 2.5% to 4.5% and revenue per available seat mile (RASM) to grow 2% to 5%.