July 29 (Reuters) - JetBlue Airways ( JBLU ) on Tuesday

posted an adjusted loss for the second quarter that was smaller

than Wall Street expectations, helped by cost cutting measures

and recovering demand for travel in the U.S.

Over the past month, larger peers Delta and United

have signaled that bookings are starting to stabilize,

though at lower-than-expected levels, pointing to an uneven

recovery.

In April, JetBlue ( JBLU ) joined several major airlines in pulling

its 2025 financial forecast, citing uncertainty tied to the

Trump administration's sweeping tariff policies and federal

spending cuts that weighed on consumer travel.

"Demand for air travel improved as the quarter progressed,

resulting in significant strength for bookings within 14-days of

travel, as well as for peak travel periods," said Marty St.

George, JetBlue's ( JBLU ) president, adding that the momentum continued

into July.

However, the carrier said it expects third-quarter revenue

per available seat mile (RASM), an industry metric commonly

known as unit revenue and a proxy for pricing power, to decline

between 2% and 6%.

It also renistated its 2025 unit cost forecast and expects

it to rise between 5% and 7%.

The carrier reported an adjusted loss of 16 cents per share

for the quarter ended June 30, compared to analysts' estimate of

a loss of 33 cents apiece.

Operating revenue was $2.18 billion. Analysts, on average,

were expecting $2.28 billion, as per data compiled by LSEG.