JetBlue Airways Corporation
(
JBLU
)
r
eceived 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.
DELTA AIR LINES (DAL): Free Stock Analysis
Report
JETBLUE AIRWAYS (JBLU): Free Stock Analysis
Report
SOUTHWEST AIR (LUV): Free Stock Analysis Report
UNITED CONT HLD (UAL): Free Stock Analysis
Report
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