jet blue airlines Many of the country’s airlines unveiled new domestic first-class seats on Wednesday as they bet on the premium travel boom to become profitable again.
JetBlue has announced that it will offer its domestic first class, BlueFirst, in December 2024, and plans to begin operating the aircraft next month with new seats and a complete in-flight product. The airline unveiled its new cabin Wednesday at its home base, John F. Kennedy International Airport. CEO Joanna Geraghty told CNBC late last month that the renovations would continue into 2027.
JetBlue will offer 12 of its Airbus A320 seats and 30 seats with extra legroom, down from 42 seats available previously. Because the planes don’t have ovens, JetBlue said it offers a variety of cold food options, including sesame noodles, pastrami sandwiches and tortellini salad, depending on the route.
JetBlue’s new domestic first class seats
Leslie Josephs/CNBC
The development comes as the New York airline attempts to stabilize after posting a profit in 2019. Last month, JetBlue executives tried to calm investors after the company’s stock hit a record low following reports that bondholders had engaged a restructuring advisor.
“We have no intention or plans to file for bankruptcy. We are not partnering with a restructuring company,” Geraghty said in an Oct. 27 interview with CNBC.
Geraghty told CNBC’s Phil LeBeau on Wednesday that JetBlue “has met with several creditors over the past several weeks as part of our regular investor engagement.” He said he has made it clear to bondholders that JetBlue does not need to restructure.
The company’s stock is up more than 40% this month, as of midday Wednesday, more than any other passenger airline, but is still down about 11% since the beginning of the year.
JetBlue is betting that resilience in travel demand, especially for spacious seats, will help propel its turnaround plan. The plan aims to take the airline to operating profit next year and adjusted earnings per share of $1 in 2028.
Airline executives said they expect fares to continue rising next year to cope with rising costs, including but not limited to fuel costs such as labor and airport fees. Mr Geraghty said on Wednesday that even if fuel prices were to ease next year, “I don’t think fares will go down as much as people are expecting.”
JetBlue’s new domestic first class seats
Leslie Josephs/CNBC
Both large and small airlines are competing to equip their cabins with wider and more expensive seating options to cover ever-rising costs, from jet fuel to personnel to airport operating costs.
For example, a ticket for the new reclining first-class seats between Kennedy Airport and Fort Lauderdale-Hollywood International Airport in Florida will cost $847 round-trip during the first week of March, compared to $446 in standard economy.
Tuesday, low-cost airline frontier airlines announced new first-class seats that occupy the first two rows and will equip Airbus planes with premium seats with extra legroom and in-seat power up to the eighth row. Chief Marketing Officer Bobby Schroeder told CNBC in an interview Monday that the airline plans to remove rows of seats on planes to accommodate more expensive seats.
JetBlue reported last month that it ended the third quarter with $2.2 billion in liquidity and an unencumbered asset base of $7 billion, including $2.8 billion in aircraft and engines.
JetBlue Airways said in its financial report that it had total debt of $8.4 billion as of Sept. 30.
“There is a fundamental disconnect between the bond market narrative and what our financial results actually show,” Geraghty told CNBC last month.
“Absolutely not,” Geraghty said last month when asked if JetBlue was considering furloughs, layoffs or acquisitions to cut costs.
