JetBlue's Long Recovery Continues

The U.S. airline industry has started recovering from the effects of the COVID-19 pandemic this year. However, JetBlue Airways (NASDAQ: JBLU) has lagged many of its rivals, largely due to its focus on the Northeast region, where air travel demand has returned at a slower pace.

JetBlue underperformed most peers again last quarter, and that trend looks set to continue through the end of 2021. Nevertheless, the low-fare airline is making meaningful progress toward rebuilding its profit margin with every passing quarter.

In the second quarter, JetBlue's revenue decreased 29% compared to Q2 2019 on 15% less capacity. (On a year-over-year basis, revenue surged sevenfold from $215 million to $1.5 billion.) Revenue modestly exceeded the high end of the company's initial guidance for the quarter, thanks to strengthening demand and a 1.5 percentage point tailwind from the recent renewal of JetBlue's co-branded credit card agreement.

Source Fool.com