=20 ---------------------------------------------------------------------- This article was sent to you by someone who found it on SF Gate. The original article can be found on SFGate.com here: http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?file=3D/news/archive/2004/01/29/f= inancial1052EST0096.DTL ---------------------------------------------------------------------- Thursday, January 29, 2004 (AP) Profit, revenue surge at discount carrier JetBlue (01-29) 07:52 PST (AP) -- NEW YORK (Dow Jones/AP) -- JetBlue Airways Corp. said Thursday that fourth-quarter profit rose 29 percent from a year ago as it added planes. The New York-based low-cost airline reported net income of $19.5 million, or 17 cents a diluted share, for the quarter, compared with $15.2 million, or 15 cents a diluted share, a year earlier. Wall Street had expected the carrier to earn 17 cents a share, according to a mean estimate of analysts surveyed by Thomson First Call. Revenue for the latest quarter rose 40.4 percent to $262.9, up from $187= 3 million a year ago. The airline's fourth-quarter load factor, or percentage of seats filled, was 83.1 percent, up from 81.8 percent a year earlier. It increased capacity by 51.7 percent. JetBlue, which operates a fleet of 55 Airbus A320 aircraft, said it plans to add another 14 A320s to its fleet in 2004. The airline also has on order 100 Embraer 190 aircraft, with options for an additional 100 scheduled to begin delivery in mid-2005. Earlier this month, JetBlue announced its largest expansion ever, launching service from Boston's Logan International Airport to Denver; Long Beach, Calif.; and three destinations in Florida. For the full year, the discount carrier had net income of $103.9 million, or 97 cents a share, compared with $54.9 million, or 56 cents a share, a year before. Revenue rose to $998.3 million from $635.2 million. In Thursday morning trading, shares of JetBlue were unchanged at $24 on the Nasdaq Stock Market. =20 ---------------------------------------------------------------------- Copyright 2004 AP