DAVID FIELD / WASHINGTON DC
JetBlue Airways' flotation on the New York stock exchange on 17 April attracted an enthusiastic response from investors, and sparked interest in further airline flotations coming soon.
JetBlue shares rose 67% on the first day of trading to $45 and renewed interest in other airlines, currently struggling with rising fuel prices, failed fare increase programmes and stagnant traffic. JetBlue's 14% flotation brought in $158.5 million, which it will use to help triple its fleet to 83 Airbus A320s over the next five years.
The following day, Continental Airlines regional arm ExpressJet raised $480 million in its flotation.
Flotations of Chautauqua Airlines and Pinnacle (the Express I Airlink unit of Northwest Airlines) will follow. But one new-issues expert, David Menlo of ipo.financial.com, warns that "JetBlue... has embarked on a course of expansion that could eventually bring it big-airline problems".
Source: Flight International
