JetBlue Airways 8K Announces Accelerated Vesting of Stock Options; Company Declares Three-for-Two Stock Split | JBLU 20 Oct 05

Exhibit 99.2

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

CONTACT:
Investor Relations
Amy Carpi, (203) 656-7651
amy.carpi@jetblue.com

Corporate Communications
(718) 709-3089
corporatecommunications@jetblue.com

JETBLUE ANNOUNCES THIRD QUARTER 2005 EARNINGS

Low-Fare Carrier Achieves 3.1% Operating Margin

New York, NY (October 20, 2005 ) — JetBlue Airways Corporation (NASDAQ: JBLU) today reported its results for the third quarter 2005:


•	Operating revenues for the quarter totaled $452.9 million, representing growth of 40.2% over operating revenues of $323.1 million in the third quarter of 2004.


•	Operating income in the quarter was $13.8 million, resulting in a 3.1% operating margin, compared to operating income of $22.5 million and a 7.0% operating margin in the third quarter of 2004.


•	Net income for the quarter was $2.7 million, representing earnings of $0.02 per diluted share, compared with third quarter 2004 net income of $8.1 million, or $0.07 per diluted share.

‘‘This quarter was a difficult one for JetBlue,’’ said David Neeleman, JetBlue’s Chairman and CEO. ‘‘The combination of record high jet fuel costs, which were 58% above fuel costs for the same period last year, hurricanes, and a competitive revenue environment has proven difficult for all airlines, and JetBlue is not immune. We will continue to build our business for the long term through strategic growth and by striving to exceed our customers’ expectations.’’

During the third quarter of 2005, JetBlue achieved a completion factor of 99.4% of scheduled flights versus 97.9% in the third quarter of 2004. On-time performance, defined by the U.S. Department of Transportation as arrivals within 14 minutes of schedule, was 72.2% in the third quarter of 2005 compared to 79.0% for the same period in 2004. The Company attained a load factor in the third quarter of 2005 of 86.6%, an increase of 1.7 points on a capacity increase of 28.2% over the third quarter of 2004.

‘‘Our crewmembers did an excellent job this quarter despite the numerous challenges,’’ commented Dave Barger, President and COO. ‘‘Going forward, we remain committed to examining every opportunity to increase revenue, reduce costs and improve our operational integrity.’’

For the third quarter 2005, yield per passenger mile was 7.87 cents, up 6.0% compared to 2004 on a 4.8% increase in average length of haul. Operating revenue per available seat mile (RASM) increased 9.4% year-over-year to 7.15 cents. Revenue passenger miles increased 30.7% from the third quarter of 2004 to 5.5 billion. Available seat miles grew 28.2% to 6.3 billion. Operating expenses for the third quarter were $439.1 million, up 46.1% from the third quarter of 2004. Operating expense per ASM (CASM) for the third quarter 2005 increased 13.8% year-over-year to 6.93 cents. On a fuel-neutral to prior year period basis, CASM increased 2.7% to 6.26 cents. Operating margin, on a fuel-neutral to prior year period basis, was 12.6% in the third quarter 2005. During the quarter, realized fuel price was $1.70 per gallon, a 57.9% increase over third quarter 2004 realized fuel price of $1.08.

Looking ahead, for the fourth quarter 2005 JetBlue expects to report a negative operating margin between 5.0% and 7.0%, resulting in an expected net loss for the quarter and the full year. This forecast is based on an assumed aircraft fuel cost per gallon of $2.00, net of hedges, during the fourth

quarter as well as a non-cash, one-time stock compensation expense that is estimated to be up to $9 million related to the acceleration of stock options announced yesterday. JetBlue ended the third quarter with $491 million in cash and investment securities.

JetBlue will conduct a conference call to discuss its quarterly earnings today, October 20, at 10:00 a.m. Eastern Time. A live broadcast of the conference call will be available via the World Wide Web at http://investor.jetblue.com.

About JetBlue

JetBlue is a low-fare, low-cost passenger airline, which provides high-quality customer service. JetBlue operates a fleet of 82 new Airbus A320s and plans to add three additional A320s and eight EMBRAER 190s to its fleet in 2005. Based at New York City's John F. Kennedy International Airport, JetBlue currently operates 318 flights a day and serves 33 destinations in 14 states, Puerto Rico, the Dominican Republic and The Bahamas.

All JetBlue aircraft feature roomy leather seats; all equipped with an in-seat digital entertainment system offering 36 channels of free DIRECTV^® programming — no other airline offers more live satellite TV options. On flights longer than two hours, a selection of first-run movies and bonus features from FOX InFlight^TM is also available. (1)

With JetBlue, all seats are assigned, all travel is ticketless, all fares are one-way, and an overnight stay is never required. For more information, schedules and fares, please visit www.jetblue.com or call JetBlue reservations at 1-800-JETBLUE (538-2583), 1-888-538-2583 if calling from Puerto Rico, or 1-200-9898 if calling from the Dominican Republic. This press release, as well as past press releases, can be found on www.jetblue.com.


(1)	FOX InFlight^TM premium movies are available on flights longer than two hours. DIRECTV^® service is not available on flights between JFK/Newark and Puerto Rico or the Dominican Republic; however, FOX InFlight^TM is offered complimentary on these routes.

# # #

This press release contains statements of a forward-looking nature which represent our management's beliefs and assumptions concerning future events. Forward-looking statements involve risks, uncertainties and assumptions and are based on information currently available to us. Actual results may differ materially from those expressed in the forward-looking statements due to many factors, including without limitation, potential hostilities in the Middle East or other regions, our ability to implement our growth strategy and our dependence on the New York market, our fixed obligations and our limited operating history, seasonal fluctuations in our operating results, increases in maintenance costs, fuel prices and interest rates, our competitive environment, our reliance on sole suppliers, government regulation, our failure to properly integrate LiveTV or enforce its patents, our ability to hire qualified personnel, the loss of key personnel and potential problems with our workforce including work stoppages, and continuing changes in the airline industry following the September 11th terrorist attacks and the increased risk of future attacks, the potential risks with the delivery, placing into service and integration into our operations of the EMBRAER 190 aircraft as well as the potential liability relating to our handling of customer data. Additional information concerning these and other factors is contained in the Company's Securities and Exchange Commission filings, including but not limited to, the Company's Annual Report on Form 10-K/A and Quarterly Reports on Form 10-Q/A. We undertake no obligation to update any forward-looking statements to reflect events or circumstances that may arise after the date of this release.

JETBLUE AIRWAYS CORPORATION
CONSOLIDATED STATEMENTS OF INCOME
(in thousands, except per share amounts)
(unaudited)


	Three Months Ended September 30,						Percent Change			Nine Months Ended September 30,						Percent Change
	2005			2004			Percent Change			2005			2004			Percent Change
OPERATING REVENUES
Passenger	$	431,529		$	311,462			38.5		$	1,199,653		$	900,253			33.3
Other		21,386			11,613			84.1			55,637			31,543			76.4
Total operating revenues		452,915			323,075			40.2			1,255,290			931,796			34.7
OPERATING EXPENSES
Salaries, wages and benefits		107,757			86,255			24.9			311,739			247,741			25.8
Aircraft fuel		138,026			68,499			101.5			335,953			175,174			91.8
Landing fees and other rents		27,184			24,813			9.6			80,106			68,437			17.0
Depreciation and amortization		29,511			19,808			49.0			80,506			53,429			50.7
Aircraft rent		18,265			17,553			4.1			54,154			52,548			3.1
Sales and marketing		21,996			14,657			50.1			61,744			46,423			33.0
Maintenance materials and repairs		19,812			11,518			72.0			46,931			32,406			44.8
Other operating expenses		76,518			57,499			33.1			205,030			155,516			31.8
Total operating expenses		439,069			300,602			46.1			1,176,163			831,674			41.4
OPERATING INCOME		13,846			22,473			(38.4	)		79,127			100,122			(21.0	)
Operating margin		3.1	%		7.0	%		(3.9	) pts.		6.3	%		10.7	%		(4.4	) pts.
OTHER INCOME (EXPENSE)
Interest expense		(28,361	)		(14,172	)		100.1			(74,386	)		(36,512	)		103.7
Capitalized interest		3,855			2,477			55.7			11,524			5,863			96.6
Interest income and other		6,963			2,520			176.3			15,061			6,000			151.0
Total other income (expense)		(17,543	)		(9,175	)					(47,801	)		(24,649	)
INCOME (LOSS) BEFORE INCOME TAXES		(3,697	)		13,298			(127.8	)		31,326			75,473			(58.5	)
Income tax expense (benefit)		(6,383	)		5,182						9,160			30,767
NET INCOME	$	2,686		$	8,116			(66.9	)	$	22,166		$	44,706			(50.4	)
EARNINGS PER COMMON SHARE:
Basic	$	0.03		$	0.08					$	0.21		$	0.43
Diluted	$	0.02		$	0.07					$	0.20		$	0.40
Weighted average shares outstanding:
Basic		105,361			103,490						104,875			102,914
Diluted		110,826			110,817						110,571			110,833

JETBLUE AIRWAYS CORPORATION

COMPARATIVE OPERATING STATISTICS


	Three Months Ended September 30,						Percent Change			Nine Months Ended September 30,						Percent Change
	2005			2004			Percent Change			2005			2004			Percent Change
Revenue passengers		3,782,567			3,033,338			24.7			10,878,559			8,604,108			26.4
Revenue passenger miles (000)		5,483,821			4,196,006			30.7			15,043,038			11,503,686			30.8
Available seat miles (000)		6,331,862			4,940,080			28.2			17,346,715			13,815,395			25.6
Load factor		86.6	%		84.9	%		1.7	pts.		86.7	%		83.3	%		3.4	pts.
Breakeven load factor (1)		87.4	%		80.9	%		6.5	pts.		84.2	%		76.2	%		8.0	pts.
Aircraft utilization (hours per day)		13.7			13.6			0.5			13.6			13.5			0.3
Average fare	$	114.08		$	102.68			11.1		$	110.28		$	104.63			5.4
Yield per passenger mile (cents)		7.87			7.42			6.0			7.97			7.83			1.9
Passenger revenue per available seat mile (cents)		6.82			6.30			8.1			6.92			6.52			6.1
Operating revenue per available seat mile (cents)		7.15			6.54			9.4			7.24			6.74			7.3
Operating expense per available seat mile (cents)		6.93			6.09			13.8			6.78			6.02			12.6
Airline expense per available seat mile (cents) (1)		6.87			6.01			14.3			6.72			5.96			12.7
Departures		28,104			22,893			22.8			81,123			65,883			23.1
Average stage length (miles)		1,444			1,383			4.4			1,371			1,344			2.0
Average number of operating aircraft during period		79.2			61.8			28.2			74.8			58.6			27.7
Average fuel cost per gallon	$	1.70		$	1.08			57.9		$	1.52		$	0.99			52.7
Fuel gallons consumed (000)		81,009			63,466			27.6			221,680			176,561			25.6
Percent of sales through jetBlue.com during period		77.7	%		75.0	%		2.7	pts.		77.2	%		75.7	%		1.5	pts.
Full-time equivalent employees at period end (1)											7,452			6,127			21.6

SELECTED CONSOLIDATED BALANCE SHEET DATA
(in thousands)


	September 30, 2005		December 31, 2004
Cash, cash equivalents and investment securities	$	491,312	$	449,162
Total assets		3,565,941		2,796,670
Total debt		2,189,648		1,544,812
Stockholders' equity		786,618		754,123

NON-GAAP FINANCIAL MEASURES (2)
(in thousands)


	Three Months Ended September 30, 2005			Nine Months Ended September 30, 2005
Fuel Neutral Operating Expenses to Prior Period
Operating expenses as reported	$	439,069		$	1,176,163
Less: Reported aircraft fuel		(138,026	)		(335,953	)
Add: Aircraft fuel at prior period cost per gallon		87,433			219,938
Profit sharing impact		7,589			17,402
Fuel neutral operating expenses	$	396,065		$	1,077,550
Fuel neutral operating margin		12.6	%		14.2	%
Fuel neutral operating expense per available seat mile (cents)		6.26			6.21


(1)	Excludes operating expenses and employees of LiveTV, LLC, which are unrelated to our airline operations

(2)

In management's view, comparative analysis of period-to-period operating results can be enhanced by excluding the significant volatility in the price of aircraft fuel, which is subject to many economic and political factors that are beyond our control. We believe that the presentation of these non-GAAP financial measures is useful to management and investors because it is more indicative of our ability to manage our costs and also assists in understanding the significant impact that fuel prices have had on our operations. Investors should consider these non-GAAP financial measures in addition to, and not as a substitute for, our financial performance measures prepared in accordance with GAAP.

SOURCE: JetBlue Airways Corporation

JetBlue Airways (JBLU) 8-KJetBlue Airways Announces Accelerated Vesting of Stock Options; Company Declares Three-for-Two Stock Split