JetBlue Airways Corporation (JBLU) received approval to build an international arrival facility at its terminal at John F. Kennedy (:JFK) International Airport.
The Port Authority of New York and New Jersey's Board of Commissioners sanctioned the construction of the facility. Construction is expected to commence in July this year and be over by the end of 2014.
JetBlue, the largest domestic airline at JFK, remains focused on enhancing its international service by expanding partnerships and taking advantages of travel benefits. Last year, the company entered into inter-line partnerships with 7 international carriers, bringing the total number of partnerships to 14. Further, JetBlue expects approximately 5–7 interline partnerships this year, including the recent collaborations with Hawaiian Airlines and Korean Air.
The company currently offers international destinations at Barbados, Dominican Republic, Costa Rica, Jamaica, Mexico, Saint Lucia, St. Maarten, and Turks and Caicos from JFK.
Apart from international growth, the company is successfully expanding its network footprint in two major growth regions, Boston in New York and the Caribbean in Latin America. JetBlue has consolidated its position as the largest airline serving Boston Logan International Airport by connecting approximately 47 destinations. The company currently operates more than 100 daily flights to Boston and plans to increase it to 150 daily flights by 2015.
The company will further add flights in San Juan, Puerto Rico, and Ft. Lauderdale in mid-2012. Consequently, one-fourth of the total capacity will be in the Caribbean region by the end of this year. We believe optimizing schedule across networks enhances JetBlue’s growth and strengthens its network against its major competitors like Delta Air Lines Inc. (DAL), United Continental Holdings Inc. (UAL) and Southwest Airlines Co. (LUV).
We are maintaining our long-term Neutral recommendation on JetBlue. For the short term, the stock retains a Zacks #3 (Hold) Rank.
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