As with many airlines in the U.S. who focus on budget fliers, JetBlue has been attempting to navigate an environment of economic uncertainty.
Now, one of its major investors is threatening to sell off his shares in the airline if the carrier can’t turn around its financial prospects in a year.
JetBlue’s second-largest investor, Vladimir Galkin, has expressed the intention to potentially divest his 10% stake if the carrier doesn’t improve its financial performance, according to a Reuters report. JetBlue shares are down by 43% compared to the same time last year.
“I am underwater a little bit and just going to have to hold on to it. I don’t want to say for as long as it takes, obviously, but maybe for another year,” Galkin told Reuters. Galkin holds about 35 million shares, which totals $212 million invested in the airline, according to Reuters.
The current atmosphere of looming tariffs and potential trade wars from President Trump have led to weaker travel demand for airlines across the board, but it has especially affected carriers that rely on price-sensitive passengers who fly in economy class.
The effect on JetBlue has led to a net loss for the first quarter of 2025. Plus the airline’s CEO Joanna Geraghty said in a memo to employees that JetBlue’s hopes of breaking even this year now seem “unlikely.”
In the memo, Geraghty shared a plan to streamline operations and shore up the airline’s bottomline, which included nixing underperforming routes, focusing resources on its most profitable flights, and reassessing the size of its leadership team. The airline also has a long-term strategy called JetForward to optimize its operations and improve its passenger products.
“The cost savings measures from the recent memo are part of JetForward and a continuation of our previously stated commitment to reduce costs, particularly as the industry as a whole has seen a macroeconomic step back in consumer demand,” JetBlue said in a statement to Reuters.
The plan in the memo is a positive development, Galkin told Reuters, but he noted the airline’s overall “trajectory will be evident” over the next few quarters.
The airline has already begun winding down operations on less profitable routes, such as one between Miami and Boston, which will cease flights after September 3, the company announced earlier this week. JetBlue also said it would bring its popular Mint business class to Orlando for the first time this winter on a route to Las Vegas. The airline also announced a major new loyalty program partnership with United that will allow passengers on each carrier to earn and redeem frequent flier miles on the other airline.
That partnership launches in 2027, and Galkin told Reuters it’s one component that Wall Street analysts might be underestimating.
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