Airlines

JetBlue slides after lowering guidance on Dorian impact, demand concerns

Key Points
  • JetBlue expects its revenue per available seat mile to grow between -2% and 0% for the third quarter.
  • The company said it is experiencing lower-than-expected demand across its system, especially for trips to Puerto Rico.
A JetBlue Airways Corp. Airbus A321 plane taxis outside of Terminal 5 at John F. Kennedy International Airport (JFK) in New York.
Mark Kauzlarich | Bloomberg | Getty Images

Shares of JetBlue fell 4.5% on Wednesday after the airline lowered its revenue forecast, citing weak demand for its flights to Puerto Rico and the impact of Hurricane Dorian.

The company said in a securities filing Wednesday that it expects growth of its revenue per available seat mile, a key measure in the airline industry, to be between -2% and 0% for the third quarter. JetBlue's previous guidance was for growth between 0.5% and 3.5%.

The airline attributed 1.25 percentage points of this change to softer-than-expected demand for travel to Puerto Rico, and 0.75 percentage point to the impact from Hurricane Dorian.

The company also said it is experiencing weaker demand across its system. It reported just over $2 billion in total revenue for the third quarter last year.

Hurricane Dorian has forced airports to close and hundreds of flights to be canceled as it moves toward the United States. The storm has killed at least seven people.

The airline also warned in July that delayed shipments of new planes from Airbus would hamper growth this year.

Shares of the New York-based airline, which has a market cap of about $5 billion, are up over 2% so far this year.

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Deutsche Bank: Fly with JetBlue