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JetBlue Announces Third Quarter Profit

JetBlue Airways today reported operating income of $11.3 million and net income of $10.5 million on total revenues of $82.6 million for the three months ended September 30, 2001. Load factor for the quarter was 76.4%. These results included a pre-tax gain of $6.7 million for compensation received under the Air Transportation Safety and System Stabilization Act. Without the effect of the government compensation, operating income would have been $4.6 million.

For the nine months ended September 30, 2001, the airline reported operating income of $30.3 million and net income of $28.3 million on total revenues of $224.9 million, including the pre-tax gain of $6.7 million noted above, and a load factor of 78.6%.


“To report a profit in the third quarter while most of our industry is reporting unprecedented losses is a great tribute to the dedication and hard work of the entire JetBlue team,” said David Neeleman, CEO of JetBlue. “They have shown remarkable resourcefulness and adaptability in keeping our airline operating smoothly while dealing with new security directives in the wake of the September 11 tragedy. It also shows the resilience of our low fare, low cost business model.”


“While we initially reduced our flight schedule in the days following the attacks, we`re currently operating the same number of flights today as we were on September 10. With an additional 18 daily flights planned, we will operate a total of 102 daily flights by the end of the year. Our growth plan remains intact and we are proud to say that we have not laid off a single employee, nor have we cancelled or deferred a single aircraft delivery.”


“I have always believed that you cannot have too much cash”, said Mr. Neeleman. “So since September 11, we have taken several actions designed to strengthen our liquidity. These have included, among other things, reductions in discretionary spending, strong headcount control and the addition of $30 million in new equity capital from our existing investors. We expect that these actions will result in a cash balance of approximately $90 million at year end. Combined with our line of credit, our total available cash resources are expected to be approximately $108 million at year`s end.”

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For the three months ended September 30, 2001, the airline`s completion factor, that is the percentage of scheduled flights that actually flew to their destination, was 99.85%, excluding September 11 - 14. JetBlue recorded an overall on-time performance of 83%* for the third quarter compared to an industry average of 77.7% for the same period.


JetBlue recorded a total of 1.5 mishandled bags per 1,000 passengers for the quarter, compared to an average of 4.58 per 1,000 passengers for the ten largest carriers in the same period.


Further, the U.S. Department of Transportation received a total of 29 complaints about JetBlue in the nine months ended September 30, 2001, which equals approximately 1.28 complaints per 100,000 passenger enplanements which is about half the industry average of 2.40 complaints per 100,000 passengers for the same period.


“This operational performance represents a remarkable achievement and the credit is shared by many across the whole airline,” said Dave Barger, JetBlue`s President and COO. “The `JetBlue Experience,` as it`s been called, combines stellar operational performance with the friendliest service in the industry. In October, we experienced a 72.2% load factor, or percentage of seats filled, which is the best of any airline reporting, and we posted the best on-time performance in the history of our airline at 92.2%. Even with the new security procedures, check-in times at most of our airports are still just 60 minutes prior to departure.”


The airline recently completed installing Kevlar armor-plated, bulletproof cockpit doors across its entire fleet. The reinforced doors are locked with titanium deadbolts from inside the cockpit only. By the end of the year, JetBlue plans to commence installing security cameras in its passenger cabins which will be monitored inflight by the airline`s pilots.


JetBlue was voted the country`s #2 Domestic Airline in the Condé Nast Traveler 14th Annual Readers` Choice Awards, published this month. JetBlue also received the highest score of any airline in the Condé Nast Traveler 2001 Business Travel Awards (#1 U.S. Airline in the Coach-Only category) and was voted #2 Best Domestic Airline in the 2001 Zagat Airline Survey.


Since launching operations 21 months ago, JetBlue has served more than 3.5 million passengers. The airline flies a fleet of 19 new Airbus A320 aircraft and plans to take delivery of another two new A320s this year and eleven more by the end of 2002. All JetBlue aircraft are outfitted with roomy all-leather seats each equipped with free LiveTV satellite television, offering up to 24 channels of DIRECTV programming at every seat.


From its base at John F. Kennedy International Airport, JetBlue flies to: Fort Lauderdale, Tampa, Orlando, Fort Myers and West Palm Beach, FL; Buffalo, Rochester and Syracuse, NY; Long Beach, Ontario and Oakland, CA; Burlington, VT; New Orleans, LA; Denver, CO; Salt Lake City, UT; and Seattle, WA. JetBlue will commence twice-daily flights between Washington Dulles and Fort Lauderdale on November 28.


With JetBlue, all seats are assigned, all travel is ticketless, all fares are one-way, and a Saturday night stay is never required. The airline is offering $5 each way off all fares booked through its web site, www.jetblue.com, through November 30. For more information, schedules and fares, please visit www.jetblue.com or call JetBlue reservations at 1-800-JETBLUE (538-2583).

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