Samantha Bomkamp, THE ASSOCIATED PRESS

Stumble Upon

del.icio.us

Digg

Facebook

Print

Email

Speak Up

NEW YORK - JetBlue Airways Corp. said Tuesday record jet fuel costs drove it to a second-quarter loss, but the shortfall was less than Wall Street was expecting.

Enlarge Photo

THE ASSOCIATED PRESS/Rick Maiman, file

In this Feb. 19, 2007 file photo, Jet Blue aircraft are seen at JFK airport in New York.

JetBlue posted a loss of US$7 million, or three cents per share, compared with a year-ago profit of $21 million, or 11 cents per share.

Revenue rose 18 per cent, to $859 million, from $730 million a year earlier.

Analysts expected a loss of 7 cents per share, with revenue of $856 million, according to a Thomson Financial poll.

But as the industry faces "unprecedented challenges," the Forest Hills, N.Y.-based carrier said it will suspend its near-term growth plans beginning in September.

It expects September capacity to be down 10 per cent and said it does not expect to grow next year.

The Forest Hills, N.Y.-based carrier also said it will defer delivery of 10 Embraer 190 jets originally scheduled for delivery between 2009 and 2011 to 2016.

The company added it will halt operations in Ontario, Calif., as of Sept. 3. JetBlue did not specify how many workers will be affected by the move.

"The dramatic rise in fuel prices has forced us to make the difficult decision to discontinue operations in Ontario," said CEO Dave Barger. "While we understand the impact this decision has on our customers and our crew members, we need to make appropriate network adjustments to better match our capacity with customer demand."

JetBlue said it has secured a $110-million line of credit with Citigroup Global Markets Inc. to fund working capital and other general corporate purposes. The credit facility, which expires next July, is partially secured by JetBlue's auction rate securities.