JetBlue Airways (JBLU) 8-K Results of Operations and Financial Condition

Exhibit 99.1

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

CONTACT:

Investor Relations

Amy Carpi, (203) 656-7651

amy.carpi@jetblue.com

Corporate Communications

Gareth Edmondson-Jones, (718) 709-3060

gareth.edmondson-jones @jetblue.com

JETBLUE ANNOUNCES FOURTH QUARTER AND
FULL YEAR 2004 EARNINGS

Low-Fare Carrier Achieves Sixteenth Consecutive Quarter of Profitability

New York, NY (January 27, 2005) — JetBlue Airways Corporation (NASDAQ: JBLU) today reported its results for the fourth quarter and full year 2004:

•Operating revenues for the quarter totaled $334.0 million, representing growth of 27.0% over operating revenues of $262.9 million in the fourth quarter of 2003.  For the full year, operating revenues totaled $1.27 billion, representing growth of 26.8% over operating revenues of $998.4 million for the full year 2003.

•Operating income in the quarter was $12.2 million, resulting in a 3.7% operating margin, compared to operating income of $35.0 million and a 13.3% operating margin in the fourth quarter of 2003.  For the full year 2004, operating income was $112.9 million, resulting in an operating margin of 8.9%.  This compares with operating income of $168.8 million and a 16.9% operating margin for the full year 2003.

•Net income for the quarter was $2.4 million, representing earnings of $0.02 per diluted share, compared with fourth quarter 2003 net income of $19.5 million, or $0.17 per diluted share.  For the full year 2004, net income totaled $47.5 million, or $0.43 per diluted share, compared with net income of $103.9 million, or $0.96 per diluted share, for the full year 2003.  Results

for the full year 2003 reflect the receipt of $22.8 million in compensation related to the Emergency War Time Supplemental Appropriations Act.  Net of income taxes and profit sharing, this amounts to $11.5 million, or $0.11 per diluted share for the twelve months ended December 31, 2003.

 “I’m extremely proud of the efforts our crewmembers made this quarter, a very tough one characterized by continued high fuel prices and weak yields,” said David Neeleman, JetBlue’s Chairman and CEO.  “Many challenges remain as we start our sixth year of operations, yet we are confident that we have the capital structure, the low cost base and the customer loyalty to allow us to continue to grow and prosper over the long term.”

During the fourth quarter of 2004, JetBlue achieved a completion factor of 99.9% of scheduled flights, compared to 99.6% in 2003.  On-time performance, defined by the US Department of Transportation as arrivals within 14 minutes of schedule, was 80.1% in the fourth quarter of 2004 compared to 86.7% for the same period in 2003.  For the full year 2004, JetBlue achieved a completion factor of 99.4% versus 99.5% reported for the full year 2003.  On-time performance for the full year 2004 was 81.6%, compared to 84.3% for the full year 2003.  The Company attained a load factor in the fourth quarter of 2004 of 82.9%, a decrease of 0.2 points on a capacity increase of 36.2% over the fourth quarter of 2003.  Load factor for the full year 2004 was 83.2%, a decrease of 1.3 points on a capacity increase of 38.6%.

Dave Barger, President and COO, commented, “The JetBlue Team, now over 7,500 strong, rose to the occasion to meet the unique challenges of 2004.  In 2005, the breadth of our airline will continue to develop as we add another fifteen A320 aircraft to our route system, launch our new fleet of Embraer

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E190 aircraft later this year, further grow our route network, and expand our home base here in New York City.”

For the fourth quarter 2004, operating revenues increased by 27.0% over 2003 to $334.0 million.  Revenue passenger miles increased 36.0% from the fourth quarter of 2003 to 4.2 billion.  Yield per passenger mile was 7.58 cents, down 7.1% compared to 2003 on a 1.7% increase in average length of haul.  Operating revenue per available seat mile (RASM) decreased 6.7% year-over-year to 6.56 cents.  Available seat miles grew 36.2% to 5.1 billion.  Operating expenses for the fourth quarter were $321.8 million, up 41.2% from the fourth quarter of 2003.  Operating expense per ASM (CASM) for the fourth quarter 2004 increased 3.7% year-over-year to 6.32 cents.  During the quarter, realized fuel price was $1.24 per gallon, a 47.4% increase over fourth quarter 2003 realized fuel price of $0.84.  As a result of its fuel hedging program, JetBlue realized a $13.1 million benefit in the fuel expense line in the fourth quarter and a $37.0 million benefit for the full year 2004.  JetBlue ended the year with $449.2 million in cash and short-term investments.

JetBlue will conduct a conference call to discuss its quarterly earnings today, January 27, 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

About JetBlue

JetBlue is a low-fare, low-cost passenger airline, which provides high-quality customer service. JetBlue operates a fleet of 70 new Airbus A320 aircraft and plans to add 14 additional A320s and 7 Embraer E190s to its fleet in 2005. Based at New York City’s John F. Kennedy International Airport, JetBlue currently operates 276 flights a day and serves 30 destinations in 12 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 up to 36 channels of free DIRECTV® programming. On many flights, a selection of first-run movies and bonus features from FOX InFlight Premium Entertainment may be available. (*)

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With JetBlue, all seats are assigned, all travel is ticketless, all fares are one-way, and a Saturday night 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.

(*) DIRECTV® service is not available on flights between JFK and Puerto Rico or the Dominican Republic; however, where available, FOX InFlight Premium Entertainment is offered complimentary on these routes.

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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, our extremely competitive industry, our ability to implement our growth strategy including the integration of the Embraer E190 aircraft into our operations, our significant fixed obligations and our reliance on high daily aircraft utilization, increases in maintenance costs, fuel prices and interest rates, our dependence on the New York market, seasonal fluctuations in our operating results, our reliance on sole suppliers, government regulation, the loss of key personnel and potential problems with our workforce, the potential liability associated with the handling of our customer data and future acts of terrorism or the threat of such acts or escalation of U.S. military involvement overseas. 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 2003 Annual Report on Form 10-K and Quarterly Reports on Form 10-Q. We undertake no obligation to update any forward-looking statements to reflect events or circumstances that may arise after the date of this release.

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JETBLUE AIRWAYS CORPORATION

CONSOLIDATED STATEMENTS OF INCOME

(in thousands, except per share amounts)

(unaudited)

	Three Months Ended December 31,						Percent		Twelve Months Ended December 31,						Percent
	2004			2003			Change		2004			2003			Change
OPERATING REVENUES
Passenger (1)	$	320,365		$	253,720		26.3		$	1,220,758		$	965,091		26.5
Other	13,671			9,224			48.2		45,214			33,260			35.9
Total operating revenues	334,036			262,944			27.0		1,265,972			998,351			26.8
OPERATING EXPENSES
Salaries, wages and benefits	89,377			72,731			22.9		337,118			267,334			26.1
Aircraft fuel	80,192			40,598			97.5		255,366			147,316			73.3
Landing fees and other rents	23,097			17,242			33.9		91,181			68,691			32.7
Aircraft rent	17,668			16,304			8.4		70,216			59,963			17.1
Sales and marketing	16,775			12,552			33.6		63,198			53,587			17.9
Depreciation and amortization	23,233			14,904			55.9		76,540			50,397			51.9
Maintenance materials and repairs	12,495			8,661			44.3		44,901			23,114			94.3
Other operating expenses	58,993			44,952			31.2		214,509			159,116			34.8
Total operating expenses	321,830			227,944			41.2		1,153,029			829,518			39.0
OPERATING INCOME	12,206			35,000			(65.1	)	112,943			168,833			(33.1	)
Operating margin	3.7		%	13.3		%	(9.6	)pts.	8.9		%	16.9		%	(8.0	)pts.
OTHER INCOME (EXPENSE)
Interest expense	(16,966		)	(8,823		)	92.3		(53,478		)	(28,897		)	85.1
Capitalized interest	3,011			1,556			93.5		8,874			5,203			70.6
Interest income and other	2,483			2,786			(10.9	)	8,483			7,539			12.5
Government compensation (2)	—			—					—			22,761
Total other income (expense)	(11,472		)	(4,481		)			(36,121		)	6,606
INCOME BEFORE INCOME TAXES	734			30,519			(97.6	)	76,822			175,439			(56.2	)
Income tax expense	(1,659		)	10,979					29,355			71,541
NET INCOME	$	2,393		$	19,540		(87.8	)	$	47,467		$	103,898		(54.3	)
EARNINGS PER COMMON SHARE:
Basic	$	0.02		$	0.19				$	0.46		$	1.07
Diluted	$	0.02		$	0.17				$	0.43		$	0.96
Weighted average shares outstanding:
Basic	103,969			101,664					103,179			97,274
Diluted	110,738			112,081					110,809			109,504

(1)During the fourth quarter of 2004, we recorded additional passenger revenue of $3.5 million to recognize expired customer credits based on stated terms.  We also recorded other non-recurring charges totaling $2.0 million.  The effect of these adjustments, net of profit-sharing and income taxes, was $0.8 million, or $0.01 per diluted share for the three and twelve months ended December 31, 2004.

(2)In May 2003 we received $22.8 million in compensation related to the Emergency War Time Supplemental Appropriations Act.  Net of profit-sharing and income taxes, this amounted to $11.5 million, or $0.11 per diluted share for the twelve months ended December 31, 2003.

JETBLUE AIRWAYS CORPORATION

COMPARATIVE OPERATING STATISTICS

	Three Months Ended December 31,						Percent		Twelve Months Ended December 31,						Percent
	2004			2003			Change		2004			2003			Change
Revenue passengers	3,178,517			2,377,510			33.7		11,782,625			9,011,552			30.8
Revenue passenger miles (000)	4,226,616			3,108,125			36.0		15,730,302			11,526,945			36.5
Available seat miles (000)	5,095,656			3,741,357			36.2		18,911,051			13,639,488			38.6
Load factor	82.9		%	83.1		%	(0.2	)pts.	83.2		%	84.5		%	(1.3	)pts.
Breakeven load factor (1)	82.4		%	74.5		%	7.9	pts.	77.7		%	72.5		%	5.2	pts.
Aircraft utilization (hours per day)	13.2			12.8			2.9		13.4			13.0			3.2
Average fare	$	100.79		$	106.72		(5.6	)	$	103.61		$	107.09		(3.3	)
Yield per passenger mile (cents)	7.58			8.16			(7.1	)	7.76			8.37			(7.3	)
Passenger revenue per available seat mile (cents)	6.29			6.78			(7.3	)	6.46			7.08			(8.8	)
Operating revenue per available seat mile (cents)	6.56			7.03			(6.7	)	6.69			7.32			(8.5	)
Operating expense per available seat mile (cents)	6.32			6.09			3.7		6.10			6.08			0.3
Airline expense per available seat mile (cents) (1)	6.24			6.08			2.6		6.03			6.07			(0.5	)
Departures	24,649			18,201			35.4		90,532			66,920			35.3
Average stage length (miles)	1,325			1,318			0.6		1,339			1,272			5.3
Average number of operating aircraft during period	66.5			49.6			34.0		60.6			44.0			37.8
Average fuel cost per gallon	$	1.24		$	0.84		47.4		$	1.06		$	0.85		24.5
Fuel gallons consumed (000)	64,526			48,143			34.0		241,087			173,157			39.2
Percent of sales through jetBlue.com during period	74.7		%	74.6		%	0.1	pts.	75.4		%	73.0		%	2.4	pts.
Full-time equivalent employees at period end (1)									6,413			4,892			31.1

SELECTED CONSOLIDATED BALANCE SHEET DATA

(in thousands)

	December 31, 2004		December 31, 2003
Cash and cash equivalents	$	410,417	$	570,695
Total assets	2,798,644		2,185,757
Total debt	1,544,812		1,108,595
Stockholders’ equity	756,200		671,136

NON-GAAP FINANCIAL MEASURES (2)

(in thousands)

	Three Months Ended December 31, 2004			Twelve Months Ended December 31, 2004
Fuel Neutral Operating Expenses to Prior Period
Operating expenses as reported	$	321,830		$	1,153,029
Less: Reported aircraft fuel	(80,192		)	(255,366		)
Add: Aircraft fuel at prior period cost per gallon	54,413			205,109
Profit sharing impact	3,867			7,539
Fuel neutral operating expenses	$	299,918		$	1,110,311
Fuel neutral operating margin	10.2		%	12.3		%
Fuel neutral operating expense per available seat mile (cents)	5.89			5.87

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

(2)In management’s view, comparative analysis of results can be enhanced by excluding the significant increase in the price of aircraft fuel, which is beyond our control.

SOURCE:  JetBlue Airways Corporation