JetBlue Airways, the airline with the largest presence in Puerto Rico, expects the island"™s recovery from Hurricane Maria to last through the end of 2018 and will adjust its operations until then, trimming capacity to/from the US territory by about 33%.
The assessment came as New York-based JetBlue reported a third-quarter year-over-year (YOY) net profit decline of 10.2% after hurricanes Irma and Maria severely affected the carrier, which has large exposure in both Florida and the Caribbean.
JetBlue president and CEO Robin Hayes told analysts in a conference call that the hurricane activity during the third quarter was "unprecedented" for the carrier, leading to "over 30 days of irregular operation" and 2,500 canceled flights attributed to Irma and Maria. JetBlue is "well into the recovery proces" and "data suggests Florida bookings will return to normal by November," Hayes said.
Hayes has visited Puerto Rico twice since Maria to assess the situation, and believes "many month" of recovery are still ahead there. About 6% of JetBlue"™s total capacity is dedicated to San Juan, Puerto Rico, and the airline has "many crew members, customers and their familie" who have been affected by Maria and its aftermath, Hayes noted.
JetBlue believes about one-third of its capacity to/from San Juan is leisure and two-thirds is visiting friends and family (VFR). Airline executives assess that VFR traffic will largely remain intact as the island goes through its recovery, but leisure traffic will be nonexistent for more than a year…
