12:51 PM EST, 12/04/2024 (MT Newswires) -- Shares of JetBlue Airways ( JBLU ) climbed intraday Wednesday after the airline upgraded its sales forecast for the key holiday quarter amid stronger-than-expected demand.

The company now expects revenue to decline between 2% and 5% year over year in the December quarter from a previous forecast of a 3% to 7% drop. Available seat miles, or ASM, are forecast to dip 4.5% to 6.5%, compared with a prior estimate that ASM would be down 4% to 7%.

"Booking performance for travel in November and December was higher than expectations immediately following the US presidential election and as a result, the fourth quarter revenue headwind from the election is now estimated to be 0.5 points compared to the previous forecast of 1.0 point," JetBlue ( JBLU ) wrote in a filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Shares of JetBlue ( JBLU ) advanced 8.5% in midday trade.

Improved close-in demand and strong performance over the Thanksgiving week buoyed revenue during the November holiday peak. So far in December, in-quarter bookings are trending above expectations, it said.

The carrier lowered its fourth-quarter fuel price projection to between $2.40 per gallon and $2.50 from a previous range of $2.50 to $2.65. It improved its cost per available seat mile excluding fuel growth estimate to between 12.5% and 14.5% from a prior 13% to 15% amid "a more reliable and on-time operation," JetBlue ( JBLU ) said.

For the full year, JetBlue ( JBLU ) now expects revenue to decline 3.5% to 4.5% from an earlier forecast that sales would be down 4% to 5% from 2023. The company narrowed its full-year ASM target range, which still averages out to a midpoint decline of 3.5%.

JetBlue ( JBLU ) tempered its 2024 fuel cost expectation to between $2.73 and $2.76 from $2.75 to $2.80 and now sees non-fuel unit costs rising between 7% and 7.5%, softer than its previous guidance between 7% and 8%.

Price: 6.54, Change: +0.48, Percent Change: +7.84