jetBlue closed the third quarter of 2026 with a net loss of 257 million dollars (229.1 million euros), which implies a rise of 80.4% compared to the 'red numbers' of 143 million dollars (127.8 million euros) recorded in the same period of the previous year. This deterioration occurs in a scenario of strong fuel price increases, whose expenditure increased by 61%, to 868 million dollars (776.1 million euros).
Between July and September, the American airline reached operating revenues of 2.812 billion dollars (2.514 billion euros), 21.1% higher than a year earlier, according to a statement made this Tuesday.
Of the total billed, 2.6 billion dollars (2.324 billion euros) came from ticket sales, which represents an advance of 21.8%, while revenues from other business lines amounted to 212 million dollars (189.5 million euros), 13.4% more.
Operating expenses stood at 2.956 billion dollars (2.643 billion euros), 22.1% above the third quarter of 2025. In addition to the strong impact of fuel, personnel costs increased by 9.4%, to 946 million dollars (845.5 million euros), and expenditures for landings and other rentals rose by 11.1%, to 199 million dollars (177.9 million euros).
As a consequence, the company incurred an operating loss of 144 million dollars (128.7 million euros), above the 100 million dollars (89.4 million euros) negative recorded in the same quarter of the previous year.
The average fuel price was 3.91 dollars per gallon (3.50 euros), 57.4% more than a year earlier, although the airline indicated that the strength of demand and the increase in fares allowed it to offset approximately 87% of the rise in fuel costs.
Looking ahead to the end of 2026, JetBlue anticipates that its operating revenue per available seat mile will grow between 13.5% and 14.5% for the entire year, while capacity will increase between 1.5% and 2.5%. The company projects an adjusted operating margin negative of between 4.5% and 6.5% and capital investments around 850 million dollars (760 million euros).
For the fourth quarter, the airline expects that operating revenue per available seat mile will increase between 18% and 22% year-on-year, despite estimating that the price of fuel will rise to $4.64 per gallon (€4.15), 85% more than in the same period of 2025. Likewise, it is confident in improving its operating margin by one to two percentage points compared to the fourth quarter of the previous year.
The company maintains its roadmap to achieve sustained operating profitability by 2027 and obtain earnings per share of at least one dollar, as well as a positive free cash flow in 2028.