JetBlue CEO’s Outlook on Mergers, Lounges and Engine Issues

19.09.2024 - 19:47 / skift.com / Spirit Airlines / Joanna Geraghty / Hawaiian Airlines / Meghna Maharishi

Nearly nine months into the job, JetBlue CEO Joanna Geraghty has dealt with an activist investor, Pratt and Whitney engine issues and the fallout of JetBlue’s failed merger with Spirit Airlines. 

“At the end of the day, I feel that I’m sort of in this role to shepherd JetBlue through a challenging period where we’re coming out of,” she said at the Skift Global Forum on Thursday. 

JetBlue is posting profits for the first time in a while, it culled unprofitable routes and it deferred aircraft deliveries in a bid to boost its balance sheet. 

“Our focus is really around how do we bring humanity back to all parts of the customer experience,” Geraghty said. 

After a federal judge blocked JetBlue’s merger with Spirit, JetBlue had to forge a new path as a standalone carrier. 

And Geraghty doesn’t see any mergers in the near future. 

“It’s difficult to see how the merger can happen with this administration,” Geraghty said. “And so for JetBlue, we’re focused on executing our core strategy.”

U.S. regulators approved a merger between Alaska Airlines and Hawaiian Airlines on Tuesday, but only after securing several consumer protections. On the other hand, the Justice Department successfully sued to block the JetBlue-Spirit merger on the grounds that it could raise airfares. 

Before Geraghty stepped into the top spot, JetBlue had been looking for other ways to grow. The airline started launching several routes into Europe and developed a partnership with American Airlines called the Northeast Alliance. That partnership was also struck down in federal court. 

When asked if JetBlue would ever consider joining one of three airline alliances — SkyTeam, Star Alliance or Oneworld — Geraghty said it was something JetBlue would consider. 

“We’ve got over 50 airline partners that provide relevance around the world, but we do recognize that as a 5% player in the United States, sometimes our limited network relevance can be challenging for customers who want to buy everywhere, so it’s something we’ll continue to evaluate,” Geraghty said. 

JetBlue announced Thursday morning that it would open its first-ever lounges at its hubs in New York and Boston in a push to attract more premium travelers. 

Geraghty said JetBlue hadn’t offered lounges before because it wanted to ensure it could keep fares low. 

“It costs a lot of money to operate a lounge. You’re in it for a short period of time, and when you look at what some of the other airlines had created in their lounges, it was a less than stellar experience,” she said. 

Geraghty added that JetBlue would aim to offer a more “bespoke” experience with its lounges.

“It’s going to be somewhat limited in who can access it,” Geraghty said. “But at the end of the day, you know, our loyalty