JetBlue sees revenue at low end of outlook, higher fuel costs

JetBlue Airways Corp. issued its second warning in as many months, saying revenue this quarter will come in at the low end of its forecast and that its fuel costs are higher than expected. 

In a securities filing on Thursday, the carrier blamed the lower projected revenue on fewer leisure travel bookings in September and flight disruptions in the northeastern US due to weather and air traffic control issues. 

The company had projected in August that third quarter revenue was likely to drop by 4% to 8% compared to a year ago and that non-fuel costs to fly each seat a mile were on track to rise 2.5% to 5.5%.   

On Thursday, JetBlue also said non-fuel costs to fly each seat a mile will be at the high end of its previous guidance and that fuel prices will come in at about $2.95 per gallon for the three-month period. That was above an earlier forecast for $2.75 to $2.90 a gallon. 

JetBlue rose 0.7% in premarket trading to $4.47 as of 7:59 a.m. in New York. The stock had fallen 31% this year through the close of regular trading on Wednesday.