JetBlue, which is listed on the Nasdaq stock exchange, took to the air for the first time in February 2000, flying from JFK in New York to Fort Lauderdale in Florida. Founded by David Neeleman, it now operates about 470 flights a day and last year carried 18.6 million passengers.
The company has experienced some turbulence of late, recording a small loss in 2006 of $1,000 on revenues of $2.4 billion. Its average load factors fell from 85.2 per cent to 81.6 per cent, while its average fare rose by 8.8 per cent to $119.73.
Based on the same model as Southwest Airlines, the blueprint for low-fares carriers, JetBlue offers leather seats and gives passengers free in-flight entertainment and unlimited snacks.
In December, JetBlue removed a row of seats from its Airbus 320 fleet to increase passenger leg-room to 36 inches. It said the move would save it $30 million over five years by reducing its fuel burn and allowing it to cut crewing levels.
