JetBlue Lifts Q2 Profit On Solid Demand

JetBlue Airways grew its second-quarter profit as "solid" US demand helped its bottom line.

The low-cost carrier earned USD$152 million, from USD$61 million a year earlier, excluding the company's gain from selling its LiveTV subsidiary in 2014.

Passenger revenue per available seat mile grew 1.4 percent last quarter, JetBlue said. Total operating revenues grew 7.9 percent to USD$1.6 billion.

JetBlue said unit costs excluding fuel and profit-sharing expenses increased 0.6 percent in the second quarter, although its fuel bill fell 31 percent because of the oil glut.

It expects to pay on average USD$1.95 per gallon of fuel in the third quarter, net of hedges.

JetBlue said its capacity growth in 2015 will be "at the higher end" of its prior guidance of 7 to 9 percent. In the third quarter, it expects capacity to increase between 8.5 percent and 10.5 percent.

Investors have called on carriers larger than JetBlue to curb their capacity growth in response to falling demand from abroad as the strong US dollar and in some cases weak economies reduce spending power.

While JetBlue flies extensively between the United States and Latin America, the New York-based airline has largely escaped these pressures because most of its customers are US-based.