The Long Island City, NY-based carrier, JetBlue Airways Corporation (NASDAQ:JBLU) witnessed significant rise in air traffic for Jun 2017. Traffic – measured in revenue passenger miles (RPMs) – improved 3.2% year over year to 4.07 billion.
On a year-over-year basis, consolidated capacity (or available seat miles/ASMs) expanded 4% to 4.77 billion. Load factor or percentage of seats filled by passengers decreased 70 basis points (bps) to 85.5% in the month under consideration. This was because capacity expansion outweighed traffic growth in the month. The low-cost carrier registered a completion factor (system wide) of 97.5% in the month, with 60.6% flights on schedule.
On a year-to-date basis, JetBlue posted a 4.5% increase in RPMs, while ASMs rose 4.5%. Load factor remained same at 84.6% on a year-to-date basis.
Revenue per available seat mile (RASM) in the second quarter is expected to increase approximately 7 % compared with the second quarter of 2016 (previous guidance had called for an increase in the band of 4-6%). Lower completion factor and incentive payments related to the JetBlue co-branded credit card positively impacted second-quarter RASM.
Price Performance
Shares of JetBlue have underperformed the Zacks categorized Transportation- Airline industry in the last six months. The stock has gained 9.15%, while the industry has returned 16.20%.
Zacks Rank & Other Stocks to Consider
JetBlue currently holds a Zacks Rank #2 (Buy). Investors interested in the airline space may also consider Ryanair Holdings (NASDAQ:RYAAY) , Air France-KLM SA (OTC:AFLYY) and Deutsche Lufthansa (DE:LHAG) AG (OTC:DLAKY) , each sporting a Zacks Rank #1 (Strong Buy). You can see the complete list of today’s Zacks #1 Rank stocks here.
Shares of Ryanair, Air France and Deutsche Lufthansa have grown 29%, 92% and 47%, respectively, in the last three months.
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Ryanair Holdings PLC (RYAAY): Free Stock Analysis Report
JetBlue Airways Corporation (JBLU): Free Stock Analysis Report
Deutsche Lufthansa AG (DLAKY): Free Stock Analysis Report
Air France-KLM SA (AFLYY): Free Stock Analysis Report
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