JetBlue Airways has delayed to 2030 and beyond deliveries from Airbus of 44 new A321neos, meaning the airline does not anticipate receiving any of the type from Airbus between 2026 and 2029.
The move, revealed by JetBlue on 30 July as part of a new turnaround plan called “JetForward”, will see JetBlue’s fleet become increasingly dependent on the smaller A220 in the coming years.
The deferrals also come partly in response to problems with the jets’ Pratt & Whitney PW1100G geared turbofans (GTFs).
“We’ve come to an agreement with Airbus to defer 44 A321neo aircraft, which are the fleet most-impacted by the Pratt & Whitney GTF issues,” JetBlue chief executive Joanna Geraghty says during the airline’s second-quarter earnings call.
“This will reduce our upcoming capital expenditures by $3 billion, helping us to improve our free cash flow outlook and restore our balance sheet health,” Geraghty adds.
JetBlue turned a $25 million profit in the second quarter, though in the first half of the year it lost $691 million.
The New York-based airline now anticipates receiving just four A321neos in 2025 and none between 2026 and 2029, with 44 deferred deliveries now scheduled for 2030 and beyond. The airline does, however, plan to receive 56 A220s from Airbus during the 2025-2029 period, adds JetBlue chief financial officer Ursula Hurley.
JetBlue has been cutting capacity in a bid to shore up its operation and better align demand with seat availability.
Hurley says an average of 11 of JetBlue’s A321neos will be parked this year due to problems with PW1100G engines. Some of those engines are out of service due to P&W’s recall stemming from a problem with powder-metal manufacturing.
But Hurley says the “majority” of the grounded jets will be down for engine “inspections outside” the power-metal-recall issue, citing “a number of other unscheduled engine maintenance visits that are resulting in GTF engines coming off-wing much sooner than anticipated, some after just a year of flying”.
P&W declines to comment.
Hurley says JetBlue’s number of grounded A321neos will be in the “mid-to-high teens” in 2025, “with greater uncertainty in 2026 and beyond”.
“We simply can’t afford to continue taking delivery of costly new aircraft that may need to be parked due to engine availability issues,” she adds.
“We are working with Pratt on reaching a settlement that we believe reflects the extent of the impact to JetBlue,” says CEO Geraghty.
JetBlue has used its A321neos to launch routes from Boston and New York to Europe in recent years, and has planned to use on-order A321XLRs, a long-range variant, to continue that expansion.
“The deferrals for the XLR will have an impact on growth in that market, but it’s by no means a retreat,” says Geraghty.
JetBlue revealed its JetForward turnaround plan on 30 July, saying the effort will generate $800-900 million in additional earnings between 2025 and 2027. In addition to the delivery deferrals, the plan calls for JetBlue to improve its reliability, adjust its network, introduce more seating options and achieve cost savings.
