
JetBlue says it will slash underperforming routes and ground planes after economic uncertainty and ‘shaken consumer confidence’ killed off any hopes the beleaguered airline had of breaking even later this year.
While the airline remains optimistic that travel demand might rebound later this year, any recovery won’t be enough to make up for JetBlue’s losses, an internal memo shared by aviation insider xJonNYX on Bluesky revealed.
— JonNYC (@xjonnyc.bsky.social) 17 June 2025 at 23:25
As a result, JetBlue has outlined a new cost-cutting initiative with employees, which will include:
- Slashing mid-week services and consolidating flights to destinations with multiple daily frequencies.
- Shuttering underperforming routes.
- Grounding some planes that will be surplus to requirements.
- Delaying refits of some older aircraft.
In addition, the airline said its senior leadership team might face a cutback, while anyone who is traveling for business will have to justify why their meeting couldn’t be conducted via Zoom.
The bad news for passengers is that JetBlue intends to slash its budget for support centers, meaning that complaints could go unanswered.
“Over the past few months, we’ve discussed how economic uncertainty has shaken consumer confidence and softened travel demand – hurting our plans for the year,” the leaked memo explained.
“While most airlines are feeling the impact, it’s especially frustrating for us, as we had hoped to reach break-even operating margin this year, which now seems unlikely.”
The memo continued: “We’re hopeful demand and bookings will rebound, but even a recovery won’t fully offset the ground we’ve lost this year, and our path back to profitability will take longer than we’d hoped. That means we’re still relying on borrowed cash to keep the airline running.”
Under the direction of Chief Executive Marty St. George, JetBlue is pursuing an internal transformation program known as ‘Jetforward.’ The aim of JetForward is to cut back unnecessary spending while investing in areas that will attract well-heeled passengers with plenty of spare cash.
The airline has already axed some unprofitable routes and told aircraft manufacturer Airbus that it won’t be taking delivery of some new planes until it is profitable again.
At the same time, JetBlue is working on building its first-ever premium airport lounges in Boston and New York JFK, while the airline is also finalising plans for a new domestic First Class seat.
In order to compete with bigger rivals, JetBlue will squeeze more seats on some of its planes – and in order to do that, the pitch between seats in its Core and Even More Space cabins will be cut by around two inches.
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Mateusz Maszczynski honed his skills as an international flight attendant at the most prominent airline in the Middle East and has been flying ever since... most recently for a well known European airline. Matt is passionate about the aviation industry and has become an expert in passenger experience and human-centric stories. Always keeping an ear close to the ground, Matt's industry insights, analysis and news coverage is frequently relied upon by some of the biggest names in journalism.