JetBlue earnings climb 18.5% on cheaper fuel, growing Mint

JetBlue Airways reported an 18.5% rise in second-quarter earnings Tuesday, riding low fuel prices that have benefited the airline industry for a year and growth in its premium Mint service for transcontinental flights.

The New York-based airline reported $180 million in net income for April, May and June, up from $152 million for the same period a year earlier.

Revenues were up 2% in the second quarter, to $1.6 billion. And fuel costs declined 26%, to $274 million, compared to a year earlier.

At 53 cents of earnings per diluted share, the results beat estimates of 49 cents per share, according to S&P Global Market Intelligence.

Jim Corridore, an analyst with S&P Global Market Intelligence, maintained a "strong buy" recommendation because pressures on unit revenues are expected to lessen after the summer.

CEO Robin Hayes called it “another great quarter.” Looking forward, he said the airline would continue to grow its transcontinental market with the Mint premium service stimulating demand and improving revenue for each available mile flown by 20% since its introduction in 2014.

“Mint has surpassed our expectations on every customer and financial measure,” Hayes said.

JetBlue announced Tuesday it would expand Mint by amending a purchase agreement with Airbus to bring 30 more A321 aircraft into its fleet over seven years. Of those, 15 A321 aircraft will begin arriving next year. Another 15 A321neo aircraft will start arriving in 2020.

The airline had announced earlier this year it would expand Mint to  Fort Lauderdale, Las Vegas, San Diego and Seattle, while also increasing options from New York's John F. Kennedy airport, Boston and Los Angeles. Once those flights have launched, JetBlue will have more than 70 Mint flights daily from the East Coast, West Coast and Caribbean.

JetBlue: Demand for premium Mint service strong

JetBlue continues to grow. The airline increased its capacity 11.1% for the quarter and had a 10.3% increase in the miles that passengers paid to fly, at 11.6 billion.

But the planes flew slightly less full than a year earlier, a 0.6 point drop to 85%. The yield for flying each passenger a mile fell nearly 10%, to 12.87 cents.