JetBlue, which operates approximately 20% of its flights in
and out of the Caribbean on a typical day, expects to reduce capacity fleetwide
by approximately 2.9% below earlier plans because of hurricanes Irma and Maria.
The hurricanes will cost JetBlue $114-$134 million in 2017,
the carrier said in an operational update Wednesday.
Among the hard-hit Caribbean destinations that JetBlue
serves are St. Croix, St. Thomas and St. Maarten. JetBlue also has the largest
operation of any airline in San Juan and serves the Puerto Rican cities of
Ponce and Aguadilla.
JetBlue said that Irma and Maria combined to reduce
available seat miles by 2.7% in the third quarter while impacting revenue by
$44 million.
On a bright note, JetBlue said the demand for Florida should
return to normal by the middle of the October to December.
Meanwhile, Allegiant reported Wednesday that Irma's push through
Florida forced the carrier to cancel 8% of scheduled September departures. The
total number of passengers carried by Allegiant in September was down 10.3% from
a year earlier.