What JetBlue’s Multi-Billion Dollar Debt Means for Costa Rica Flights

JetBlue Airways, one of the main carriers linking Costa Rica with the United States, is under mounting financial pressure, and how that resolves could reshape low-fare service to San José and Liberia. The New York-based airline has posted operating losses for six consecutive years and reported about $8.4 billion in debt as of Sept. 30. In late October, a group of senior creditors, including holders of about $2 billion in notes due 2031, hired investment bank PJT Partners and law firm Akin, The Wall Street Journal reported. Those notes had fallen to about 42 cents on the dollar, down from near 80 cents earlier in the month. JetBlue shares hit an all-time low on Oct. 26, hours before the company released its third-quarter results. S&P Global Ratings cut the airline’s credit rating to CCC+ in June, deeper into junk territory, citing the surge in jet fuel prices tied to the conflict in the Middle East. Fitch made the same downgrade in April. The quarterly report showed revenue up 21% to $2.8 billion on steady demand and higher fares. The net loss, however, widened to $257 million from $143 million a year earlier, as fuel averaged $3.91 a gallon, up 57%. JetBlue ended September with $2.2 billion in liquidity, including an undrawn $600 million credit facility, and expects operating margins to improve year over year in the fourth quarter. It still forecasts a full-year adjusted operating margin of between negative 4.5% and negative 6.5%. Chief Executive Joanna Geraghty said the airline remains on track to reach sustained operating profitability in 2027. She told Reuters on Oct. 27 that JetBlue is not in talks with its creditors and is not considering a debt restructuring. In an April memo to employees, she said the company was not considering bankruptcy in 2026. Merger speculation predates the latest turmoil. In March, Semafor reported that JetBlue had hired advisers to explore a sale, with United, Alaska and Southwest among the possible partners. JetBlue said at the time that it was focused on its JetForward turnaround plan. United is the carrier most often named as a buyer. The two airlines already cooperate through their Blue Sky partnership, which lets travelers earn and redeem points across both carriers and is set to give United slots for up to seven daily round trips at New York’s John F. Kennedy International Airport as early as 2027. JetBlue’s Fort Lauderdale base would also give a buyer a South Florida gateway to the Caribbean and Latin America. United Chief Executive Scott Kirby has rejected the idea. At an investor conference in May, he said, “The last thing I’m going to do is buy a route network that loses money.” Asked about JetBlue on United’s Oct. 21 earnings call, he said he had nothing new to add. Any deal involving a major U.S. airline would also face antitrust review. JetBlue has served Costa Rica since March 2009, when it launched a daily Orlando to San José flight, and added New York to Liberia service in 2012. It now connects Fort Lauderdale and New York with both San José and Liberia, and runs seasonal flights between Boston and Liberia. The airline ended its Orlando to San José route on July 8, citing higher fuel costs and a focus on its Fort Lauderdale hub. The Costa Rica Tourism Board (ICT) confirmed that cut on May 20, less than three weeks after Spirit Airlines ceased all operations, which removed another low-fare option between the two countries. The outcome for those routes depends on how JetBlue’s situation is resolved. A United acquisition could bring consolidation on overlapping routes, since United already flies to San José and Liberia from hubs including Newark and Houston. A larger United presence in Fort Lauderdale, however, could help preserve or expand South Florida service. A restructuring that kept JetBlue independent would likely produce a smaller network, and seasonal leisure routes are often among the first to be cut in such cases. A combination with Alaska or Southwest would involve less overlap on the New York routes that feed Liberia. Guanacaste has the most at stake. Hotels and tour operators in the province rely heavily on direct flights into Liberia from the U.S. Northeast, and the December-to-April high season is about to begin. For now, JetBlue continues to operate normally and has not announced further changes to its Costa Rica service. Airlines that file for Chapter 11 protection typically keep flying and honor tickets and loyalty points during the process, though that is not guaranteed.