JetBlue Airways (NASDAQ: JBLU) reported Q1 EPS of ($0.42), $0.05 worse than the analyst estimate of ($0.37). Revenue for the quarter came in at $1.59 billion versus the consensus estimate of $1.69 billion.

“I could not be prouder of our JetBlue family – not just over the past two decades – but for their service to each other, our customers, and our communities as they provide an essential service during the coronavirus pandemic,” said Robin Hayes, JetBlue’s Chief Executive Officer.

“We entered this crisis with the second strongest balance sheet among U.S. airlines. In the past two months, we have moved quickly to both protect and strengthen our liquidity position. Since the beginning of March, we have made decisive changes to our growth plan to minimize cash burn, including deep capacity cuts to our schedules. We have now reduced our CAPEX plan by $1.3 billion between now and the end of 2022, and by the end of May, we anticipate we will have lowered our operating expenses by approximately 50% year over year.

As we move towards recovery, we have three priorities. The first is the immediate need to protect the safety of our Crewmembers and Customers. The second is to minimize cash burn. The third priority is to set JetBlue up for future success by restoring Customer confidence, by returning to cash generation, and by rebuilding our margins and balance sheet.

We believe that, not only will we get through this crisis, but we will ultimately emerge as a stronger JetBlue. JetBlue has been a force for good for our industry, and we have been resilient through crises for over 20 years.”

Action Plan, Revenue and Capacity

“Our first priority since the onset of the pandemic has been to ensure the safety of our customers and crewmembers. We have responded quickly to changing conditions, and overseen the rapid evolution of policies and programs designed to address the threats to crewmember and customer safety posed by this virus,” said Joanna Geraghty, JetBlue’s President and Chief Operating Officer.

“Although the overall number of bookings remained extremely limited, we believe that we reached the bottom in terms of demand around mid-April, and expect to have a better sense of third and the fourth quarter of 2020 by early summer.

Our March capacity declined 19% year over year, as a result of scheduled reductions and close-in cancellations. Our working assumption for the second quarter is for capacity to be down about 80% compared to our original plan.

While much of our team is focused on navigating the near-term challenges, we are focused on how the business will look for customers and crewmembers as we transition to recovery. We believe our inherent strengths as a trusted brand with an unparalleled culture and superior product will serve us well, as customers evaluate their air travel options. We plan to continue to be thoughtful as we adapt to changing customer needs.”

Cost Performance and Outlook

“Thanks to our continued focus in managing JetBlue to investment grade metrics, building a strong balance sheet, improving our cost structure and strengthening our margins, we believe we are in the best position of any time in our 20-year history to effectively weather this crisis and emerge even stronger,” said Steve Priest, JetBlue’s Chief Financial Officer.

“From a financial perspective, we are focusing our efforts over the coming months on three key areas: preserving our liquidity, reducing operating expenses, and managing our capital expenditures.

We started the year with $1.3 billion in cash, cash equivalents and short-term investments. By the close of April, our liquidity position reached $3.1 billion, or ~38% of our 2019 revenue, including the payroll support through the CARES act.

In addition to successfully raising liquidity in a short period, we have acted with urgency to minimize our cash burn, reducing our expenses and re-working our plan for capital expenditures. We lowered our cash burn from an average of $18 million per day during the second half of March, to just under $10 million per day by May, excluding proceeds from the Payroll Support Program. We are leaving no stone unturned to protect the financial security of JetBlue.”

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