Yahoo Finance JetBlue's (JBLU) May Load Factor Up, Q2 RASM View Bullish
JetBlue Airways Corporation JBLU reported traffic statistics for May. Traffic, measured in revenue passenger miles (RPMs), increased 5.7% year over year to 4.59 billion. Consolidated capacity (or available seat miles/ASMs) expanded 5.4% to 5.34 billion on a year-over-year basis.
With traffic growth outweighing capacity expansion, load factor or percentage of seats filled by passengers inched up 20 basis points (bps) to 86% in the month.
This Long Island City, NY-based low-cost carrier registered a completion factor (system wide) of 99.7% in the month with 77.6% flights on schedule.
JetBlue Airways Corporation Price
JetBlue Airways Corporation price | JetBlue Airways Corporation Quote
In the first five months of 2019, the carrier posted a 6.8% rise in RPMs while ASMs grew 8.5%, both on a year-over-year basis. Meanwhile, load factor deteriorated 140 bps to 83.7%.
The carrier now anticipates second-quarter revenue per available seat mile (RASM) to increase between 2% and 4% year over year. Previously, the metric was projected to ascend 1-4% in the current quarter. Placement of Easter/Passover holiday in April is expected to positively impact the metric.
Zacks Rank & Key Picks
JetBlue carries a Zacks Rank #3 (Hold). Some better-ranked stocks in the broader Transportation sector are SkyWest, Inc. SKYW, GATX Corporation GATX and Fly Leasing Limited FLY. While Fly Leasing sports a Zacks Rank #1 (Strong Buy), SkyWest and GATX carry a Zacks Rank #2 (Buy). You can see the complete list of today’s Zacks #1 Rank stocks here.
Shares of SkyWest and Fly Leasing have surged more than 33% and 57%, respectively, so far this year. Meanwhile, GATX boasts a stellar earnings history, having surpassed the Zacks Consensus Estimate in each of the preceding four quarters, the average being 16%.
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JetBlue Airways Corporation (JBLU) : Free Stock Analysis Report
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