{"version":"1.9","identifier":"e084dcf3-f134-4a87-be2e-fe6b61512655","language":"en-US","title":"JetBlue says it isn't talking to creditors. Here's what its rough third quarter means for flyers","layout":{"columns":7,"width":1024,"margin":32,"gutter":20},"componentLayouts":{"text":{"columnStart":0,"columnSpan":7,"maximumContentWidth":720,"margin":{"top":12,"bottom":12}},"photo":{"columnStart":0,"columnSpan":7,"margin":{"top":20,"bottom":20}}},"componentTextStyles":{"default":{"fontName":"HelveticaNeue","fontSize":18,"lineHeight":29,"textColor":"#171717"},"headline":{"fontName":"HelveticaNeue-Bold","fontSize":36,"lineHeight":42,"conditional":[{"conditions":{"maxViewportWidth":480},"fontSize":28,"lineHeight":34}]},"intro":{"fontName":"HelveticaNeue","fontSize":20,"lineHeight":28,"textColor":"#555555"},"caption":{"fontName":"HelveticaNeue","fontSize":13,"lineHeight":19,"textColor":"#666666"},"byline":{"fontName":"HelveticaNeue","fontSize":13,"lineHeight":20,"textColor":"#666666"},"body":{"fontName":"HelveticaNeue","fontSize":18,"lineHeight":29,"paragraphSpacingAfter":14,"linkStyle":{"textColor":"#00704a"}}},"metadata":{"canonicalURL":"https://www.loungefrog.com/news/jetblue-q3-2026-not-in-talks-with-creditors-fort-lauderdale-bluefirst","datePublished":"2026-10-30T23:29:34.425772Z","dateModified":"2026-10-30T23:29:46.597087Z","authors":["Patrick Karsh"],"excerpt":"JetBlue lost $257 million as fuel costs jumped 61%, but its CEO says there are no creditor talks. Fort Lauderdale growth and BlueFirst on Dec. 8 are the plan.","thumbnailURL":"https://pub-fac99da959e344fe99d810d309cef7df.r2.dev/photos/article/e084dcf3-f134-4a87-be2e-fe6b61512655/b010b2e76ff5af1a71778daff8b1d962.jpg","keywords":["airline"],"generatorName":"Frog News","generatorVersion":"1.0"},"components":[{"role":"title","text":"JetBlue says it isn't talking to creditors. Here's what its rough third quarter means for flyers","textStyle":"headline","layout":"text"},{"role":"intro","text":"JetBlue lost $257 million as fuel costs jumped 61%, but its CEO says there are no creditor talks. Fort Lauderdale growth and BlueFirst on Dec. 8 are the plan.","textStyle":"intro","layout":"text"},{"role":"byline","text":"By Patrick Karsh · Published October 30, 2026","textStyle":"byline","layout":"text"},{"role":"photo","URL":"https://pub-fac99da959e344fe99d810d309cef7df.r2.dev/photos/article/e084dcf3-f134-4a87-be2e-fe6b61512655/b010b2e76ff5af1a71778daff8b1d962.jpg","caption":"A reclined BlueFirst seat, JetBlue's new domestic first class launching Dec. 8, in an image from JetBlue · JetBlue","accessibilityCaption":"A reclined BlueFirst seat, JetBlue's new domestic first class launching Dec. 8, in an image from JetBlue","layout":"photo"},{"role":"caption","text":"A reclined BlueFirst seat, JetBlue's new domestic first class launching Dec. 8, in an image from JetBlue · JetBlue","textStyle":"caption","layout":"text"},{"role":"body","format":"markdown","text":"[JetBlue](https://www.loungefrog.com/airlines/b6) spent last week trying to calm a nervous bond market. On Oct. 27, CEO Joanna Geraghty said the airline isn't negotiating with its lenders, and its shares had their best day in about a year and a half.\n\n\"We are not in talks with our creditors,\" Geraghty told [Reuters](https://www.ajot.com/news/exclusive-jetblue-ceo-says-no-creditor-talks-as-bond-selloff-raises-doubts-about-turnaround). She also said JetBlue isn't thinking about restructuring its debt and isn't seeking help from the U.S. government.\n\nHer comments came the day after JetBlue released its third-quarter results, one day earlier than planned. A week before that, The Wall Street Journal reported that a group of senior creditors had hired restructuring advisers. We covered that in [JetBlue's loyalty-backed bonds fell to 42 cents as creditors hired restructuring advisers](https://www.loungefrog.com/news/jetblue-creditors-pjt-akin-loyalty-bonds-42-cents-q3-earnings).\n\n## The third quarter in numbers\n\nSales grew fast, but fuel ate the gains. Revenue rose 21% to $2.81 billion, according to the [earnings release](https://www.sec.gov/Archives/edgar/data/0001158463/000115846326000095/ex991-earningsreleaseq32026.htm) JetBlue filed with the SEC. Revenue per seat mile, a measure of how much it earns for each seat it flies one mile, rose 18.4%.\n\nJet fuel averaged $3.91 a gallon, up 57% from a year earlier. The fuel bill came to $868 million, up 61%. The result was a net loss of $257 million, or 68 cents a share. That compares with a loss of $143 million a year earlier, [AirlineGeeks reported](https://airlinegeeks.com/2026/10/28/jetblue-stays-course-on-jetforward-will-not-look-to-restructure-debt/).","textStyle":"body","layout":"text"},{"role":"htmltable","html":"<table><tr><th>Q3 2026</th><th>Result</th><th>Change from Q3 2025</th></tr><tr><td>Operating revenue</td><td>$2.81 billion</td><td>Up 21.1%</td></tr><tr><td>Revenue per seat mile</td><td>16.28 cents</td><td>Up 18.4%</td></tr><tr><td>Fuel price per gallon</td><td>$3.91</td><td>Up 57.4%</td></tr><tr><td>Fuel expense</td><td>$868 million</td><td>Up 61.0%</td></tr><tr><td>Operating loss</td><td>$144 million</td><td>n/a</td></tr><tr><td>Net loss</td><td>$257 million</td><td>Larger loss</td></tr><tr><td>Adjusted net loss</td><td>$226 million</td><td>n/a</td></tr></table>","layout":"text"},{"role":"body","format":"markdown","text":"*Source: JetBlue third-quarter 2026 earnings release, Oct. 26, 2026.*\n\n\"I'm very encouraged by the progress we made in the third quarter,\" Geraghty said in the release.\n\n## Debt, cash and the bond market\n\nJetBlue ended September with $2.2 billion of liquidity. That includes a $600 million credit line it hasn't touched. It has $8.39 billion of debt. It says it holds about $7 billion of assets that aren't pledged to lenders, and it expects about $250 million of aircraft-backed financing to come through this quarter.\n\nBond traders are less sure. About $2 billion of bonds backed by TrueBlue, JetBlue's loyalty program, traded near 47 cents on the dollar on Oct. 26, Reuters reported, citing LSEG data. They were near 80 cents at the start of October. Their yields rose above 30%.\n\n\"Our results tell a very different story from what our bondholders are communicating out there in the market,\" Geraghty told Reuters.\n\nReuters also laid out the bills coming due. JetBlue has $477 million of scheduled debt and lease payments in 2027, $582 million in 2028 and $1.8 billion in 2029. Cash and investments fell by about $850 million since December, to $1.6 billion at the end of September.\n\nThe stock closed at a record low of $2.37 on Oct. 26, the [Miami Herald reported](https://finance.yahoo.com/markets/stocks/articles/jetblue-latest-trip-soothing-investors-090500473.html). It jumped about 18% the next day, after the call.\n\n## The outlook got worse for 2026\n\nJetBlue now expects an adjusted operating margin of minus 4.5% to minus 6.5% for 2026. In July, it forecast minus 2% to minus 5%, according to Reuters. It expects fuel to average $4.64 a gallon in the fourth quarter.\n\nThe longer goals didn't change. JetBlue still expects to make an operating profit in 2027. It is aiming for at least $1 of earnings per share and positive free cash flow in 2028. JetBlue hasn't posted a full-year profit since 2019.","textStyle":"body","layout":"text"},{"role":"htmltable","html":"<table><tr><th>Guidance</th><th>What JetBlue expects</th></tr><tr><td>Q4 2026 revenue per seat mile</td><td>Up 18% to 22%</td></tr><tr><td>Q4 2026 fuel price</td><td>$4.64 a gallon</td></tr><tr><td>2026 adjusted operating margin</td><td>Minus 4.5% to minus 6.5%</td></tr><tr><td>2027</td><td>Sustained operating profit</td></tr><tr><td>2028</td><td>At least $1 EPS and positive free cash flow</td></tr></table>","layout":"text"},{"role":"body","format":"markdown","text":"*Source: JetBlue third-quarter 2026 earnings release.*\n\n## Fort Lauderdale is the big bet\n\nSpirit Airlines stopped flying in May. JetBlue moved fast to take its place in South Florida. It has added 15 new destinations from [Fort Lauderdale](https://www.loungefrog.com/airports/fll), and it plans more than 150 daily departures there at the winter peak. That's up 39% from last year. JetBlue expects to hold about 37% of the seats at the airport in the fourth quarter, up 14 points.\n\nThe growth came from somewhere else. \"We have shrunk pretty significantly in Boston, New York and Orlando temporarily, to fund Fort Lauderdale,\" President Marty St. George said, according to the Miami Herald.\n\n\"Fort Lauderdale continues to deliver exceptional results even as we significantly grow capacity,\" Geraghty said in the release.\n\n## What flyers will notice\n\n**BlueFirst starts Dec. 8.** JetBlue's new domestic first class goes on sale on more than 30 routes. The first flights run between Boston and Fort Lauderdale, with more routes to follow in phases. Our guide to [BlueFirst routes and fares](https://www.loungefrog.com/news/jetblue-bluefirst-on-sale-30-routes-december-2026) has the details.\n\n**More lounge space.** The [BlueHouse in Boston](https://www.loungefrog.com/lounges/bos-bluehouse) is open. It joins the [BlueHouse at JFK](https://www.loungefrog.com/lounges/jfk-bluehouse). Read how access works in [our Boston BlueHouse story](https://www.loungefrog.com/news/jetblue-bluehouse-boston-opens-mint-lounge-access).\n\n**Blue Sky keeps growing.** TrueBlue members have redeemed more than 1.1 billion points on United flights since the [Blue Sky partnership with United](https://www.loungefrog.com/news/jetblue-united-blue-sky-booking-elite-perks-no-lounge-access) began, JetBlue said. Loyalty revenue rose 20% in the quarter.\n\n**Fewer flights in some places.** If you fly JetBlue from [Boston](https://www.loungefrog.com/airports/bos), [New York JFK](https://www.loungefrog.com/airports/jfk) or [Orlando](https://www.loungefrog.com/airports/mco), expect a thinner schedule for now, based on St. George's comments.\n\nJetBlue hasn't announced any changes to TrueBlue points, Mosaic status or existing tickets. Nothing in its results or its CEO's comments points to a bankruptcy filing. Still, the bond market is pricing in real risk. If you hold a large TrueBlue balance, it's worth keeping an eye on the next few months.\n\n## What to watch\n\nThe next big test is the winter. JetBlue needs high fares in Fort Lauderdale to hold up while fuel stays expensive. It also needs that $250 million of aircraft financing to close as planned. Its fourth-quarter report will show whether the plan is working.","textStyle":"body","layout":"text"}]}