NEW YORK — The last time anyone watched a low-cost American airline reassure its employees that bankruptcy was not on the table, it was Spirit Airlines. Those assurances came in early 2024. Spirit filed for Chapter 11 that November. It filed again in August 2025. It permanently ceased all operations on 2 May 2026.
JetBlue Airways is now delivering its own version of those reassurances.
JetBlue leaders told employees they are not considering Chapter 11 as they work through higher fuel costs and a heavy debt load. CFO Ursula Hurley told a companywide call that JetBlue has “a lot of cash in the bank. A lot of that cash is borrowed money, but we are in a financially stable place.”
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The call, reviewed by Bloomberg News, was an attempt by management to prevent the kind of confidence collapse that can accelerate a distressed company’s difficulties. Whether it succeeded will depend on what happens next to oil prices, to the Iran war and to a capital structure that credit analysts have described as increasingly untenable.
Why Are Creditors Hiring Restructuring Advisers?
JetBlue Airways’ senior creditors have hired restructuring adviser PJT Partners and also signed up financial restructuring law firm Akin Gump Strauss Hauer & Feld LLP, which represented the ad hoc group of secured bondholders in the first Spirit Airlines Chapter 11 bankruptcy case.
The creditor group includes holders of JetBlue’s $2 billion in bonds due in 2031 and a $742 million first-lien loan. The appointment of restructuring advisers does not mean bankruptcy or major operational changes are imminent, but it adds to growing concerns about the carrier’s struggling financial position.
The choice of advisers was conspicuous. Akin Gump’s role in Spirit’s first bankruptcy proceeding was not lost on the market. JetBlue shares, down 42 per cent this year, remained volatile in extended trading.
“JetBlue remains confident in its JetForward strategy and the progress being made toward returning to sustained profitability,” the company said in an emailed statement to media organisations. A JetBlue representative declined to comment on the creditor adviser hirings.
How Bad Is JetBlue’s Financial Position?
In the first half of 2026 JetBlue lost $566 million on revenue of $4.937 billion as fuel costs rose. S&P Global Ratings lowered JetBlue to CCC+ from B- on 8 June 2026, with a stable outlook, citing elevated fuel costs and sustained high leverage.
In its third quarter 2026 results reported on 26 October, JetBlue’s fuel costs rose 61 per cent year on year to $868 million, at $3.91 per gallon. JetBlue carries no fuel hedge and $8.4 billion in debt, making it both the biggest beneficiary and most exposed if oil rebounds.
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