Sept 5 (Reuters) - JetBlue Airways (JBLU.O) , opens new tab raised its third-quarter revenue forecast on Thursday, citing improved operational performance and strong summer travel demand, sending its shares nearly 7% higher in premarket trading.

The airline said the improved outlook was due to stronger bookings in Latin America, one of its major markets, and on gains from previously announced cost cuts and cancelling routes that were less profitable.

Bookings from travelers, who were affected by the global cyber outage in July that forced multiple airlines to halt flights, also helped, the airline added.

JetBlue was not one of the primary carriers affected by that outage, which stranded thousands of passengers across the nation.

The carrier now expects revenue in the range of a 2.5% decline to 1% growth year-on-year in the July-September quarter. The company had earlier forecast revenue to drop somewhere between 1.5% to 5.5% for the quarter.

Since the termination of its proposed $3.8 billion merger with ultra-low-cost carrier Spirit Airlines (SAVE.N) , opens new tab in March, Jetblue has taken several measures to improve its financial performance.

It deferred deliveries of 44 new jets from Airbus (AIR.PA) , opens new tab, reducing planned capital expenditures by about $3 billion between 2025 and 2029. The company also decided to exit some routes that were not living up to its financial expectations.

JetBlue now expects current quarter unit costs excluding fuel to grow between 5% and 7%, compared with a previous forecast for a 6%-8% rise.

The airline also expects fuel costs to fall as jet fuel prices moderated in the quarter.

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https://www.reuters.com/business/aerospace-defense/jetblue-boosts-third-quarter-revenue-forecast-strong-summer-demand-2024-09-05/