JetBlue Creditors Hire Advisers as Shares Fall to Lowest Since 2002
Key Facts
A group of JetBlue’s largest creditors is working with a financial adviser and a law firm on the airline’s debt, a move reported by The Wall Street Journal as the company’s shares and bonds fell. The newspaper named PJT Partners as financial adviser and Akin as legal adviser to the group. The move comes as JetBlue securities face market pressure: shares fell about 10% on Oct. 22 and closed at $2.65, their lowest level since the company went public in 2002. Bonds worth $2 billion due in 2031 also fell to about 40 cents on the dollar, a record low, according to Trace data cited by Bloomberg. The appointment of advisers does not in itself mean a debt restructuring has begun or been announced.
The company’s latest published financial figures show its cash and cash equivalents balance shrank in the first half of the year. The balance stood at $1.656 billion on June 30, 2026, compared with $1.946 billion on Dec. 31, 2025, according to JetBlue’s second-quarter filing with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission. Over the same period, total debt and finance lease liabilities were $8.537 billion, down slightly from $8.560 billion at the end of 2025. The disclosed maturity schedule included $236 million for the remainder of 2026 and $478 million in 2027. These figures put cash and near-term obligations at the center of creditors’ monitoring of the company’s financial position.
Operating results presented a mixed picture in the second quarter, with JetBlue reporting operating revenue of $2.7 billion, up 14.5% year over year. Chief Executive Joanna Geraghty said, "Strong customer demand and our decisive actions enabled us to offset fuel costs faster than we expected." But the average fuel price was $4.23 a gallon for the quarter, up $1.83, or about 76%, from a year earlier. In its September update, the company said weather and air traffic control disruptions in July and August weighed on costs. It added that severe-weather days at airports increased by more than 40% compared with the average of the previous three summer periods, while air traffic control-related cancellations nearly doubled.
JetBlue, meanwhile, raised its forecast for third-quarter revenue per available seat growth, from a range of 12.5% to 16.5% in July to 17%–20% in its September update. The company said at the time that early bookings for the fourth quarter remained encouraging, despite cost pressures from operational disruptions. It also tied its long-term plan to JetForward initiatives, which it said had generated $470 million in cumulative incremental operating profit through June 2026. The company continues to target additional annual operating benefits of between $850 million and $950 million by the end of 2027. These forecasts provide context for assessing the company’s ability to execute its operating plans alongside its financial obligations.
JetBlue expects the additional annual benefits from its JetForward initiatives to reach about $1.2 billion in 2028, and announced an earnings-per-share target of at least $1.00 that year. The company linked the target to continued strong demand and an average jet fuel price of $3.00 a gallon in 2028. That follows an average fuel price of $4.23 a gallon in the second quarter, according to the company’s results. In its September filing, JetBlue raised its forecast range for third-quarter revenue per available seat growth to 17%–20%, from 12.5%–16.5%. Updates to the company’s financial position and the maturity dates listed in its filing remain central to developments in its dealings with creditors.