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jetBlue JetBlue Announces First Quarter 2021 Results Apr 27 , 2021 NEW YORK -- ( BUSINESS WIRE ) -- JetBlue Airways Corporation ( NASDAQ : JBLU ) today reported its results for the first quarter 2021 : • Reported GAAP loss per share of ( $ 0.78 ) in the first quarter of 2021 compared to a diluted earnings per share of $ 0.14 in the first quarter of 2019 . Adjusted loss per share was ( $ 1.48 ) ( 1 ) in the first quarter of 2021 versus adjusted diluted earnings per share of $ 0.16 ( 1 ) in the first quarter of 2019 . Note A to this earnings release includes the GAAP to Non - GAAP reconciliation between reported and adjusted diluted earnings per share . • GAAP pre - tax loss of ( $ 347 ) million in the first quarter of 2021 , compared to a pre - tax income of $ 58 million in the first quarter of 2019. Excluding one- time items , adjusted pre - tax loss of ( $ 636 ) million ( 1 ) in the first quarter of 2021 versus adjusted pre - tax income of $ 70 million ( 1 ) in the first quarter of 2019 . Operational Highlights from the First Quarter • First quarter 2021 revenue declined 61 % year over two as a result of the impact of COVID - 19 . The decline is on the lower end of our prior expectations for the quarter of a 61 to 64 % decline year over two , and represents a six - point sequential improvement quarter over quarter , mainly driven by sustained momentum in booking trends for leisure travel beginning in mid - February . • Reduced first quarter 2021 capacity by 41 % year over two , in line with our original planning assumption , as a result of actions taken to capture improving demand , manage cash burn and protect liquidity . • Operating expenses declined 43 % year over two . Excluding special items , adjusted operating expenses declined 26 % ( 1 ) , year over two , which is better than our planning assumption of a decrease of 25 % year over two , despite higher fuel prices . The results were driven by capacity reductions and initiatives taken to reduce variable and fixed costs . • Resulting primarily from the actions taken , JetBlue's Adjusted Earnings Before Interest , Taxes , Depreciation , Amortization and Special Items ( Adjusted EBITDA ) in the first quarter of 2021 was ( $ 458 ) million ( 1 ) , better than the ( $ 490 ) to ( $ 540 ) million range previously expected . Balance Sheet and Liquidity • JetBlue ended the first quarter of 2021 with approximately $ 3.2 billion in unrestricted cash , cash equivalents , and short - term investments , or 40 % of 2019 revenue . ⚫ JetBlue repaid $ 94 million in regularly scheduled debt and finance lease obligations and repaid the fully drawn $ 550 million revolving credit facility during the first quarter of 2021 . ⚫ JetBlue has taken the following measures in the first quarter to manage liquidity : ⚫ Raised approximately $ 750 million with a convertible debt offering transaction . • Continued to achieve significant savings through aggressive capacity management and executing actions to manage our fixed and variable cost structure . • Redeployed assets to capture short - term , tactical cash generation opportunities and make long term network investments in our focus cities . Fuel Expense and Hedging The realized fuel price in the first quarter 2021 was $ 1.72 per gallon , a 16 % decline versus first quarter 2019 realized fuel price of $ 2.05 . As of April 27 2021 , JetBlue has not entered into forward fuel derivative contracts to hedge its fuel consumption for the second quarter of 2021. Based on the forward curve as of April 16th , JetBlue expects an average all - in price per gallon of fuel of $ 1.87 in the second quarter of 2021 . Our Recovery Plan and Actions Taken to Position JetBlue for Future Success " Although our EPS remains in negative territory , we have seen meaningful progress in the demand recovery , and have started to gain momentum from the groundwork we have laid to emerge from the crisis as a stronger JetBlue , " said Robin Hayes , JetBlue's Chief Executive Officer . " Looking back to our work from 2020 , I could not be more confident in our future . Our teams continue executing our comprehensive recovery plan , reducing our cash burn , rebuilding our margins , and repairing our balance sheet . We have seen positive cash from operations for March , and this milestone is our first step towards achieving positive EBITDA and returning to profitability . " Action Plan , Revenue and Capacity " While we initially anticipated trends improving during the quarter , we saw a bigger than expected step up in demand for leisure travel beginning in mid- February , " said Joanna Geraghty , JetBlue's President and Chief Operating Officer . " For the second quarter of 2021 , our planning assumption for revenue is a decline of between ( 30 % ) and ( 35 % ) year over two , the largest sequential improvement in our revenue since the start of the pandemic . We expect unit revenue to significantly improve , driven by both increasing load factors and improving yields .