Oct 28 (Reuters) - U.S. carrier JetBlue Airways ( JBLU )

reported a smaller-than-expected quarterly loss on Tuesday, as

steady demand for premium travel and cost-control efforts helped

cushion margins.

High-margin premium services have remained resilient, with

affluent travelers continuing to pay extra for added comfort,

while carriers have trimmed capacity on domestic routes to cut

costs.

JetBlue ( JBLU ) joins larger rivals United, American

and Delta in highlighting resilient premium demand that

has helped offset a slowdown in the U.S. domestic market amid

economic uncertainty from President Donald Trump's sweeping

policy changes.

"We are optimistic the demand environment will continue to

improve through the end of the year," said Marty St. George,

JetBlue's ( JBLU ) president.

However, JetBlue ( JBLU ), which had earlier aimed to achieve

breakeven operating margins this year but had to later scale

back those expectations, has been squeezed by high operating

costs and aircraft groundings linked to RTX's Pratt &

Whitney engines.

Rising costs have forced the carrier to tighten spending by

exiting unprofitable routes, deferring aircraft deliveries and

pausing cabin upgrade plans.

The New York-based airline said it expects fourth-quarter

unit revenue, a key measure of pricing power, to be flat to down

as much as 4% from a year earlier, when strong demand had driven

fares higher.

JetBlue ( JBLU ), which operates an all-Airbus fleet, narrowed the

range of its 2025 forecast for unit costs excluding fuel to

5%-6%, from a 5%-7% rise earlier.

It reported an adjusted loss of 40 cents per share in the

quarter through September, a tad smaller than Wall Street's

expectations of 44 cents according to data compiled by LSEG.

The airline's quarterly total operating revenue was $2.32

billion, in line with analysts' expectations.

By end-2027, the airline expects to report an earnings

before interest and taxes, or operating profit, of $800 million

to $900 million.