jetBlue
American low-cost airline, Boston Logan’s largest carrier for over a decade and the first in the country to give every passenger free Wi-Fi.
13 figures on jetBlue, drawn from 2 Modern MBA case studies.
The figures
US dollars5
| Against its own chart | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Gross revenue in billions of dollars, 2023 | $10B | 5th of 8 · top $58B | Why budget airlines stopped winning |
| Annual revenue from credit cards and mileage sales | $1.2B | 5th of 8 · top $8.2B | Why Asian airlines are so much better |
| Ancillary fees earned in billions of dollars, 2023 | $0.6B | 7th of 7 · top $7.9B | Why budget airlines stopped winning |
| Operating income of every major US airline in 2025, with and without loyalty revenue · With loyalty revenue | −$0.4B | 7th of 7 · top $5.8B | Why Asian airlines are so much better |
| Operating income of every major US airline in 2025, with and without loyalty revenue · Without it | −$1.6B | 4th of 7 · top $1.5B | Why Asian airlines are so much better |
Percentages6
| Against its own chart | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Load factor, 2023 | 82.6% | 6th of 8 · top 85.0% | Why budget airlines stopped winning |
| Average share of revenue spent on fuel and on labor, 2010 to 2023 · Labor | 29% | 4th of 8 · top 40% | Why budget airlines stopped winning |
| Average share of revenue spent on fuel and on labor, 2010 to 2023 · Fuel | 27% | 3rd of 8 · top 31% | Why budget airlines stopped winning |
| Average operating margin, 2009 to 2019 | 8% | 5th of 7 · top 16% | Why budget airlines stopped winning |
| US-based airlines by share of the domestic market, 2023 | 5% | 6th of 8 · top 18% | Why budget airlines stopped winning |
| Annual operating margin by carrier | −2% | 6th of 7 · top 10% | Why budget airlines stopped winning |
Counts2
| Against its own chart | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Number of aircraft in fleet, 2023 | 300 | 6th of 8 · top 1,273 | Why budget airlines stopped winning |
| Average price-to-earnings ratio, 2009 to 2019 | 15 | 1st of 7 · top 15 | Why budget airlines stopped winning |
Case studies covering jetBlue
Case study — TravelWhy Asian airlines are so much betterAsian carriers deliver a service Americans barely recognize. American airlines earn more doing far less.11 min read
Case study — TravelWhy budget airlines stopped winningThe low-cost carriers say the industry is rigged. It isn't. The legacy carriers just copied the only thing they had.16 min readNew episodes
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