Skift Take
Airlines can have identity crises. As it tries to get back to profitability, JetBlue thinks it knows who it is.
JetBlue isn’t pulling out of Los Angeles or ceasing to serve corporate clients. And it even plans one or two new routes to Europe in 2025.
But JetBlue’s path to profitability, according to its president, Marty St. George, relies on leisure travelers flying from the Northeast to South Florida, Orlando, the Caribbean and back.
“The core strength of this network is leisure up and down the East Coast, and that is where we make our profits, and that is where we are taking our focus,” St. George said at the Skift Aviation Forum in Dallas Tuesday.
It’s all part of JetBlue’s strategic plan, JetForward, which also calls for reducing capacity in airports that produce red ink and deferring aircraft deliveries.
St. George was one of the longest-serving JetBlue executives until he left in 2019 and later became chief commercial officer at Latam Airlines. He returned to JetBlue in February.
Asked why JetBlue reduced capacity in Los Angeles even though its Mint business class service there is profitable, St. George said: “What I like to do is build networks and make money. That was not going to happen in L.A.”
He added that JetBlue routes “up and down the West Coast” will not be reintroduced.
Leisure Traveler Focus
St. George said JetBlue’s focus is on leisure travelers, and these include some who sometimes travel for business. But he said if you only travel for business, JetBlue is probably not a fit for you.
However, JetBlue still has a corporate sales team, and one of its clients is a top 3 accounting firm based in Tampa, Florida, for example, he said.
JetBlue had a candid talk with another corporate client based in Boston that was disappointed when the airline shut down its Boston-Minneapolis service a few weeks ago. “We’re sorry, there just weren’t enough of you,” he said the airline told the client.
St. George said he’s happy with the East Coast leisure niche JetBlue has chosen. “No matter how bad things get, you are still going to see your mom and your dad,” he said.
Looking For a Partner
St. George fielded several questions related to the incoming Trump administration and antitrust issues. He said the airline is not considering mergers, and is focused on JetForward and getting the airline’s earnings back to profitability.
In January, after all, a federal court blocked JetBlue’s proposed merger with Spirit.
In 2023, another federal court overturned the JetBlue-American Airlines Northeast Alliance on competition grounds. However, St. George said at the Skift Aviation Forum that JetBlue is still looking for a domestic partner.
“I think there could be a structure that could work,” St. George said. He said the airline has talked to multiple carriers about a partnership.
The Pratt & Whitney Issue
St. George said the airline is negotiating with Pratt & Whitney over issues with its engines, and the shortfall has forced JetBlue to ground planes and limited capacity growth.
That is one of the reasons he defined 2024 and 2025 as “capital” years, not growth periods for the airline.
He said if you talk to any Pratt & Whitney customer, “you’ll see an unhappy airline right now.”
