By Doyinsola Oladipo
NEW YORK, Nov 11 (Reuters) - JetBlue Airways showcased on Wednesday its new domestic first-class product, BlueFirst, marking the start of what the airline has described as its largest
initiative towards its targeted return to profitability by 2027.
The airline is seeking to reassure investors and employees about its financial health at a time of high jet fuel prices as a selloff of its bonds and mounting restructuring concerns have cast a shadow over the airline's turnaround.
With seats already on sale across more than 30 routes and the inaugural BlueFirst flight scheduled for December, the carrier said offering a first-class product at an accessible price point would give it an edge as domestic fares climb on the back of higher fuel prices.
"We've been really excited about the initial bookings," JetBlue President Marty St. George told an audience at the Skift Commerce conference on Wednesday. "It is very clear to us, customers want premium products."
Low-cost carriers across the industry are following a similar playbook, boosting their premium product offerings to capture spending from travelers eager to spend more for perks and legroom.
On Tuesday, Frontier opened reservations for its new First Class product. Allegiant said it plans to roll out Allegiant First on select aircraft in 2027.
St. George said the company has been selling BlueFirst seats for about 20 days and many of the bookings are from its loyalty program members.
BlueFirst is a key driver in the company's JetForward plan of achieving operating profitability in 2027 and progressing towards positive free cash flow and at least $1 of earnings per share in 2028.
The New York-based carrier expects BlueFirst to contribute nearly 5 points in seat revenue improvement, a proxy for pricing power, as it is expected to attract travelers in markets with strong premium demand, notably in Boston and New York.
JetBlue plans to retrofit its Airbus A320s and A220s with BlueFirst, and expects the retrofits to be completed by 2028, a company executive said.
The airline, which has about $8.4 billion in debt and finance lease obligations, has not posted an annual profit since 2019 and reported that its third-quarter net loss deepened to $257 million from $143 million a year earlier primarily due to soaring fuel costs.
(Reporting by Doyinsola Oladipo in New York; Editing by Chizu Nomiyama and Jamie Freed)
