Q4 2019 Earnings Call

Good morning, My name is comedienne I would like to welcome everyone to the jet Airways fourth quarter 1919 earnings Conference call. As a reminder, today's call is being recorded at this time all participants are in listen only mode.

I would now like to turn the call over to check to director of Investor Relations. David Fintzen thing you. Please go ahead.

Good morning, everyone and thanks for joining us for a fourth quarter 2019 earnings call. This morning, we issued our earnings release or Investor update and a presentation that will reference during this call. All those documents are available on our website at investor Dot Jetblue Dot com and have been filed with the SEC.

Joining me here in New York to discuss our results are Robin Hayes, our Chief Executive Officer joined a guarantee a president and Chief operating Officer, Steve produced our Chief Financial Officer also joining us for Q and eight or Scott Lawrence head of revenue and planning and David Clark VP of sales and revenue management. This morning's call includes forward looking statements about future of it.

Actual results may differ materially from those expressed in the forward looking statements due to many factors and therefore investors should not place undue reliance on these statements for additional information contained concerning factors that could cause results to differ from the forward looking statements. Please refer to our press release 10-Q, and other reports filed with the SEC.

Also during the course of our call. We may discuss several non-GAAP financial measures for a reconciliation of these non-GAAP measures to GAAP measures. Please refer to the tables at the end of the earnings release, a copy of which is available on our website and now I'll turn the call over to Robin Hayes Jetblue CEO . Thanks, Dave Good morning, and thank you for joining us everyone.

Ill start with my thanks to our amazing team up almost 23000 crew members next month will we will celebrate our 20th birthday and I could not be proud of the accomplishments of the jetblue family over two decades.

Split of teamwork and founding values continue to shine and the 2019 alone we received Twentyfold domestic and International Awards.

These include recognition from J.D. power and trip advisor to name just to.

None of this will be possible without a crew members, who deliver our mission to inspire humanity in everything they do.

Over 20 years, we have become a full so good in our industry serving customers in some of the most important markets across the United States, The Caribbean and Latin America.

We have worked hard to improve our balance sheet expands and strengthen our network and have made investments in our fleet to improve margins and returns.

More recently, we focused our efforts to reset our cost structure and return to our roots as a low cost airline.

Our low cost structure enables us to continue to offer differentiated products and service and low fat talk customers.

Since our inception as an airline that Jetblue model has had a positive unlocking impact on the U.S. airline industry raising the bar for improving service, while also better benefiting customers would love affairs.

In 2008, 2019, I'm, sorry, we took further strides towards making jetblue, a better and stronger airline and bringing this year to a close I'd like to highlight just a few of the accomplishments about team.

We beat the midpoint about 2019 initial cost guidance and completed our structural cost program exceeding the original goal we established back in 2016.

We rolled out fairly option 2.0, the next integration of fed bundling.

We made significant progress in the cabin, we startling program, which is improving both customer satisfaction and return.

We took delivery of our first six Athree 21, neos added to our longest root ever and we're looking forward to taking out first eightytwenty by the yet and.

We strengthened our focus cities I made some difficult, but important changes to our network the AD relevance to our leisure business customers.

We run tough jetblue travel products laying the groundwork for the next period of growth.

We added two new members to our board of directors and would like to take the opportunity to walk the effect Sharma, who brings his extensive background in technology and digital leadership.

We continue to invest it our most valuable asset our crew members I'm proud that our crew members to burned a total of 250 college degrees. So our Jetblue scholars higher education program since launching in 2016.

Last year, we also announced that we're expanding the program to include master's degrees.

Lastly, we continue to protect our culture as we grow and we're working on expanding Jetblues University campus in Orlando and have some very exciting 20th anniversary celebrations plant.

We remain committed to the touches the touches that made a special for 20 years, including our industry, leading crew members stock purchase plan, our community connection program and our peer to peer recognition programs.

In 2019, our crew members reached an incredible milestone bones, having 1 million hours of service over the past eight years.

Our crew members have given that time to help communities will covering the natural disasters and encourage stem education through the Jetblue Foundation.

Our crew members champion the causes they care about.

By volunteering with organizations they are passionate about.

All of these accomplishments contribute to the building blocks as we look to deliver $2 50 to $3 earnings per share this year.

Our progress towards our 2020 goal has not been without hardware.

I'm humbled with how our crude members have risen to meet each obstacle we've accounted in we've encountered along the way.

Just to mentioned a few examples we successfully overcame the pressure from lower capacity headwinds on our unit costs.

Cycled through our first pilot deal offset revenue challenges and still delivered on out Twentys 19 Cosco.

I'm pleased to say that as a small thank you we'll be paying a 500 dollar bonus to each crew member in recognition of the efforts towards meeting these important goals and that expense is included in our fourth quarter results.

2019 sold some unexpected revenue headwinds, particularly with an unusually volatile year in our Latin and Caribbean markets.

I want to pools for a moment.

On behalf of our crew members leadership team our food so with all of those impacted by the recent Puerto Rico earthquakes, including some of our crew members customers and their families.

The past two years, we've seen the hardships that followed her to Maria.

I'd like to thank those in our operation and support centers. The volunteering your time, helping in the relief efforts.

As we have done in the past, we're working closely with your thoughts isn't community support short term needs and help in the recovery.

Following a natural disaster. It is common to see a lingering them on the impact even in nearby and even in nearby areas that were not damaged history suggests the bookings will normalize, but we expect to RASM impact in the first quarter.

While events such as this while events such as this one have masks some of the progress we've made in our building blocks. We are confident in our plan to grow our revenue.

We expect over two thirds of our revenue initiatives to mature throughout the year and that progress is reflected in a significant sequential improvement in rapid growth in our first quarter guidance.

We are mindful that this year, we anticipate that we're mindful that this year, we anticipate facing heightened competition in both Boston an outflow the markets.

What we believe fare options 2.0 will be a key contributor to support our RASM growth and a tool to compete more effectively.

We again anticipate double digit growth.