The COVID-19 pandemic disrupted business for virtually all airlines last quarter, but JetBlue Airways (NASDAQ: JBLU) was particularly hard hit. Given that the majority of its capacity touches the New York and Boston metro areas -- two early epicenters of the pandemic in the U.S. -- it should be no surprise that the carrier experienced particularly weak demand conditions.
JetBlue may continue to underperform peers in the near term, due to its heavy focus on the Northeast. That said, management is working aggressively to rein in costs, shore up the balance sheet, and capitalize on the pockets of demand that do exist. These efforts should enable the low-cost airline to recover over time.
JetBlue's revenue fell 90% year over year to just $215 million last quarter on an 85% reduction in capacity. Revenue plunged 94% in April and 93% in May before improving sequentially to an 83% decline in June.