12:50 PM EDT, 10/28/2025 (MT Newswires) -- JetBlue Airways ( JBLU ) provided a weak outlook for a key revenue metric for the fourth quarter, despite expectations for travel demand to continue to improve, while the air carrier posted a smaller-than-projected third-quarter loss.

Revenue per available seat mile, which is commonly used to compare the efficiency of various airlines, is anticipated to be flat to down 4% year over year in the ongoing quarter. Capacity, measured as available seat miles, is seen ranging from down 0.75% to up 2.25%. The airline forecasts cost per available seat mile, excluding fuel, to increase 3% to 5% on an annual basis in the quarter.

JetBlue's ( JBLU ) shares were down 11% in Tuesday afternoon trade. The stock has lost nearly 47% in value so far this year.

"Our capacity investment in Fort Lauderdale will be in its early stages of ramp after launching in November and December and, coupled with the step-up in domestic competitive capacity, are expected to be just over a point of headwind to RASM for the quarter," JetBlue ( JBLU ) President Marty St. George said on an earnings conference call, according to a FactSet transcript.

The company is "optimistic" that the demand environment will continue to improve through the end of the year, St. George said in a statement. "Peaks are expected to remain strong, while troughs remain challenging, and we continue to expect relatively stronger demand for our premium offerings versus core."

For the September quarter, the airline's adjusted loss widened to $0.40 a share from $0.16 a year earlier, compared with the consensus on FactSet for a larger loss of $0.43. Operating revenue fell 1.8% to $2.32 billion, largely in line with Wall Street's views.

Capacity edged up 0.9% from a year earlier, despite "tough air traffic control and weather environment in July," Chief Financial Officer Ursula Hurley said on the call. Unit revenue dropped 2.7% amid continued demand recovery signs, "characterized by strong growth in bookings, healthy demand for fleet travel and the sustained strength of premium," the CFO added.

Cost per available seat mile, excluding fuel, inclined 3.7% year over year, "beating the midpoint of our initial guidance by over 1 point," according to Hurley. "We are confident we have the right initiatives in place to drive meaningful profitability improvement in 2026."

For 2025, JetBlue ( JBLU ) now expects capacity to be flat to down 2%, compared with its previous guidance range indicating a decline of 0.5% to 2.5%. Cost per available seat mile, excluding fuel, is now seen growing 5% to 6% versus its previous growth outlook range of 5% to 7%.

"We improved the midpoint of our full-year cost guidance by half a point, despite capacity roughly one point lower than initial guidance, illustrating the benefits of our strong operation and cost-reduction programs," Hurley said in the statement. The company anticipates its unit costs to be in the low-single-digits in 2026, "underpinned by low- to mid-single-digit capacity growth," Hurley told analysts.

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