JetBlue's Money Chief Says She Has "Zero Concerns." Here's What That Means for Your Ticket

"I have zero concerns about being able to finance in the market." That was JetBlue's chief financial officer, Ursula Hurley, on a call with investors Tuesday morning, a day after the airline reported it lost $257 million from July through September and a week after bankruptcy speculation sent its stock to a record low. Is JetBlue going bankrupt? Its leaders say no, and investors seemed to believe them, at least for now: JetBlue's shares jumped more than 10% Tuesday morning.

What JetBlue Said

The message from the top was confidence. CEO Joanna Geraghty said JetBlue has "multiple avenues to strengthen liquidity beyond the current balance we have," meaning ways to raise money beyond the roughly $2.2 billion it says it already has available. Asked how much debt the airline can carry, she pointed to JetBlue's goal of earning at least $1 a share in 2028 and reminded investors that "2028 is 14 months away." Her summary: "This is a bridge, but it's not a very long bridge."

Hurley's "zero concerns" line came when an analyst asked how JetBlue would pay for new planes arriving over the next few years. She said the airline expects to keep financing them, and that it has "the liquidity and unencumbered asset base needed to get us there," which roughly means it still owns plenty of things, like planes, that it could borrow against.

What they didn't do was address the rumors head-on. When an analyst asked about reports that a group of JetBlue's creditors has formed, Hurley talked about how the airline manages its cash and didn't respond to the rumors themselves. Neither executive used the words "bankruptcy" or "restructuring" on the call.

What It Means If You Fly JetBlue

For now, nothing changes if you're booked on JetBlue. Flights are running as scheduled, tickets work as normal and TrueBlue points can still be earned and redeemed, including on United flights through the two airlines' Blue Sky partnership, which JetBlue says has now seen more than 1.1 billion points redeemed. Even if an airline does end up restructuring, US airlines that have filed for bankruptcy in the past, like American in 2011, kept flying and honored tickets and miles while they reorganized.

A few simple steps still take most of the risk off the table. Pay for JetBlue flights with a credit card, which gives you a way to get your money back if a flight you paid for doesn't operate. And if you've built up a big pile of TrueBlue points, it's a reasonable time to use them for a trip you actually want rather than saving them for later, since points tend to be the first thing that gets less generous when an airline is under pressure.

Expect to pay more, too. JetBlue's president, Marty St. George, said 93% of its seats were covered by its most recent fare increase, and the airline expects to earn 18% to 22% more per seat this fall and winter than a year ago as fuel keeps getting pricier. If you're planning Thanksgiving or December travel, booking sooner is likely to be cheaper than waiting.

There may also be fewer flights from some cities for a while. St. George said JetBlue has "shrunk pretty significantly in Boston, New York and Orlando temporarily" to grow in Fort Lauderdale, and expects to add those flights back as new planes arrive. If your usual JetBlue route from one of those cities looks thinner than it used to, that's why.