JetBlue is reassuring fliers and shareholders that it is not looking to restructure its debt and is not in larger talks with creditors, the airline’s CEO Joanna Geraghty said Tuesday, according to Reuters.
Geraghty’s comments followed a notable selloff of JetBlue’s bonds, which raised financial concerns, and also came after a group of the carrier’s creditors reportedly hired restructuring advisers PJT Partners and Akin Gump.
"We are not in talks with our creditors," Geraghty told Reuters. "Part of today, as I mentioned, was to really set the record straight that we're making progress in the underlying business."
Geraghty also noted that the airline was not pursuing any financial assistance from the U.S. government.
In recent years, JetBlue has been on a mission to return to profitability, using its multi-year JetForward initiative to improve both the customer experience and make operations more efficient.
In 2026, the carrier has been working to launch major new products, like its domestic first class BlueFirst and the first of its BlueHouse airport lounges.
The airline hasn’t been profitable since 2019, before the covid pandemic.
JetBlue reported third quarter earnings on Monday, with a net loss of $257 million, largely due to rising fuel expenses.
U.S. airlines are struggling with the increased price of fuel, which is expected to add up to $7 billion in extra costs for the fuel year, according to an estimate from American Airlines. The crushing prices have caused most U.S. carriers to cut their annual earnings expectations.
JetBlue also has about $8.4 billion in debt and lease obligations, according to Reuters.
The silver lining for JetBlue and other carriers is that travel demand has remained robust even amid elevated fuel prices and more expensive airfares.
"Resilient demand and strong yields drove revenue well ahead of our initial expectations, allowing us to recapture more of the increase in fuel costs than we initially expected,” Geraghty said of the Q3 earnings report.
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