JetBlue Tacks on Fuel Surcharge to Caribbean Fares

JetBlue Tacks on Fuel Surcharge to Caribbean Fares
By Gay Nagle Myers (Travel Weekly)

JetBlue has added fuel surcharges of $35 each way on flights to and from Puerto Rico and $45 each way on flights to and from other points in the Caribbean. CEO Dan Barger disclosed the surcharges in a conference call with industry analysts to discuss fourth-quarter earnings.

Oil prices have been creeping up in recent weeks. In response, airlines have had four rounds of price hikes since mid-December. Barger said that JetBlue’s average one-way fare in 2010 was 8 percent higher than in 2009.

The airline's net income was $9 million in the fourth quarter, down from $11 million a year ago. The airline said higher fuel costs and the massive December storm in the Northeast affected profit.

Fourth-quarter fuel costs were up 24.8 percent and the December storm cost the airline about $30 million in revenue, said JetBlue. Still, fourth-quarter revenue rose 13.1 percent, to $940 million. For all of 2010, JetBlue's net income was $97 million, up from $61 million in 2009.