JetBlue CEO gives stern warning about upcoming summer season

The staff note says the airline is 'still relying on borrowed cash.'

Jun 18, 2025 - 21:04

JetBlue CEO gives stern warning about upcoming summer season

While some carriers have come out better than others, 2025 has been a tumultuous year for the airline industry overall.

American Airlines (AAL) , Alaska Airlines (ALK) , Southwest Airlines (LUV) , and JetBlue Airways (JBLU) are some of the airlines that reported losses in their last quarterly earnings report.

In the case of JetBlue, its first-quarter loss of $208 million or 59 cents per share is a marked improvement from the $716 million loss reported at the same time in 2024, but it's still a sign of the airline's rocky financial standing.

In a note sent June 16, JetBlue CEO Joanna Geraghty told airline staff that even a spike in bookings and the cost-cutting measures implemented by the airline will not be enough to break even out of losses. JetBlue last reported a profitable quarter in 2019.

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'Still running on borrowed time to keep the airline running'

"We're hopeful demand and bookings will rebound, but even a recovery won’t fully offset the ground we've lost this year, and our path back to profitability will take longer than we'd hoped," the staff memo first reported by CNBC reads. "That means we're still relying on borrowed cash to keep the airline running."

The cost-cutting measures that Geraghty alludes to include reducing certain flights to peak times only and cutting a number of unprofitable routes entirely. Over the last two years, JetBlue exited markets such as Baltimore/Washington International Thurgood Marshall Airport and Charlotte Douglas International Airport (CLT) in the U.S., as well as Bogota in Colombia internationally.

In the note, Geraghty said the airline will continue to "wind down underperforming routes and shift flying to places with profit potential." Some new cities to which JetBlue started flying in recent months include Michigan's Traverse City, Virginia's Norfolk, and Ramón Villeda Morales International Airport in Honduras.

JetBlue exited a number of markets over the last two years.
Image source: Shutterstock

'It's always disappointing to end service': JetBlue to staff

With an ongoing dropoff in Canadian travel to the U.S. fueled by the Trump administration's antagonism toward the country, JetBlue has meanwhile scrapped plans to launch a new route to Halifax Stanfield International Airport (YHZ) in Nova Scotia this summer.

"While it's always disappointing to end service, it opens the door for us to find new routes to fly," Geraghty wrote further.

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While scant on specifics, the memo also says JetBlue may combine certain executive roles and slow down hiring for regular positions as part of the same effort to bring down costs. In January 2025, the airline offered 67 of its pilots early retirement packages, while scaling back hiring goals leadership had initially set as part of its growth plan.

A final and dramatic cost-cutting measure announced by the airline is to retire four Airbus A320 (EADSF) planes that were initially slated for retrofits. In the memo, Geraghty promised more details on how the cost-cutting measures will affect staff members and travelers "in the coming weeks."

After the memo went public, shares of the airline closed June 17 down nearly 7% at $4.21 USD. Stock is also down by 43% since the start of the year.