JetBlue Airways (NASDAQ:JBLU) shares jumped over 10% in early Thursday trading after the low-cost airline raised its fourth-quarter guidance due to “healthy” demand for air travel.
In a regulatory filing, the airline said it expects available seat miles for the quarter to increase by 2% to 3%, up from its previous guidance of a 0.5% to 3.5% improvement.
While it previously expected revenue for the quarter to be between 6.5% and 10.5% lower than the same quarter last year, it now expects the decline to be 4% to 7%.
It also expects a narrower adjusted loss per share of $0.25 to $0.35, from $0.35 to $0.55 previously.
“Since late October, close-in bookings have outperformed expectations for both holiday peak and non-holiday travel periods,” JetBlue said in the filing.
“JetBlue experienced strong operational performance during the month of November and achieved a 99.9% completion factor for the month and 100% completion factor for the Thanksgiving peak period.”
The carrier’s shares were 9.8% up at $5.39 by late morning in New York.
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