JetBlue July Load Factor Falls As Capacity Growth Outpaces Traffic Increase

JetBlue Airways Corp. said Thursday July load factor declined to 87.1% from 87.7% in the same period a year ago, as capacity growth outpaced a traffic increase. Traffic rose 5.1% to 4.48 billion revenue passenger miles, while capacity grew 5.9% to 5.14 billion available seat miles. The air carrier affirmed its third-quarter outlook for revenue per available seat mile to range from a decline of 0.5% to an increase of 2.5% from a year ago. The stock, which was still inactive in premarket trade, has gained 1.0% the past three months, while the NYSE Arca Airline Index has lost 4.3% and the S&P 500 has climbed 3.1%.