JetBlue posts profit during industry slump, expects growth NEW YORK (Reuters) =97 JetBlue Airways, a low-cost air carrier, reported an= =20 increase in its quarterly net profit Thursday and said it expected to grow= =20 another 50% this year, a rarity in an industry fraught with bankruptcy and= =20 mired in its worst-ever downturn. New York-based JetBlue, known for=20 offering in-flight satellite television and bags of blue-tinted chips, beat= =20 Wall Street forecasts with a profit of $15.2 million, or 22 cents per=20 share, for its fourth quarter. JetBlue earned $11.1 million, or 20 cents=20 per share, a year earlier, when its effective tax rate was more than 20=20 percentage points lower and it had fewer shares outstanding. While most=20 U.S. airlines are struggling with weak revenue, JetBlue said its=20 fourth-quarter operating revenue shot up 96% to $187.3 million from $95.6=20 million the year before. David Neeleman, JetBlue's chief executive officer, said cost control,=20 better efficiency and a famously loyal base of customers bolstered results.= =20 Analysts on average had expected JetBlue to earn 20 cents per share, with=20 estimates ranging from 19 to 21 cents, according to Thomson First Call.=20 JetBlue's costs are lower than those at most of its competitors, in part=20 because it uses only one model of airplane and its workers receive lower=20 salaries than many others in the industry. Many JetBlue employees count on= =20 profit-sharing payouts and shares of stock in the company for extra growth.= =20 Shares of JetBlue, which went public last April, climbed 70 cents higher on= =20 the results, or 2.5%, to $28.95 by mid-day on Nasdaq. CHARGING AHEAD WHILE OTHERS RETREAT While nearly every major U.S. airline is shrinking in size to cut costs,=20 JetBlue plans to be 50 to 55% bigger by the end of this year in terms of=20 passenger capacity, Neeleman said in a conference call Thursday. But it is= =20 facing increasingly aggressive competition from its far-bigger rivals,=20 including AMR Corp.'s American Airlines, the industry's No. 1 player. Delta Air Lines announced plans Wednesday for a new low-cost carrier named= =20 Song, which analysts said could give JetBlue a run for its money in the key= =20 New York-to-Florida market. JP Morgan analyst Jamie Baker estimated that=20 Song's passenger capacity will be 17% higher than on Delta's current New=20 York-Florida service, and said Song would competitively match JetBlue's= prices. "Modest passenger defection from JetBlue is inevitable," Baker said. He=20 expected JetBlue to respond by building up routes in regions of the United= =20 States where Song will not have a presence. Neeleman said JetBlue's rapid=20 growth is still constrained by the number of planes in its fleet. The=20 airline might take delivery from Airbus of one or two more A320s than=20 currently scheduled in the fourth quarter, he said. The number of seats=20 filled on JetBlue's planes during the quarter averaged 81.8%, 5.1=20 percentage points higher than the year earlier. JetBlue ended the year with= =20 $258 million in cash and short-term investments, a key measure industry=20 watchers analyze to make sure airlines have enough money on hand. JetBlue's= =20 stock price closed on Wednesday at $28.25, near the midpoint of the range=20 from $36.77 to $19.83 in which they have been trading since April. *************************************************** The owner of Roger's Trinbago Site/TnTisland.com Roj (Roger James) escape email mailto:ejames@escape.ca Trinbago site: www.tntisland.com Carib Brass Ctn site www.tntisland.com/caribbeanbrassconnection/ Steel Expressions www.mts.net/~ejames/se/ Site of the Week: www.pichemas.com TnT Webdirectory: http://search.co.tt *********************************************************