JetBlue CEO announces cost cuts as travel demand slows

The big picture: "Economic uncertainty has shaken consumer confidence and softened travel demand – hurting our plans for the year," JetBlue CEO Joanna Geraghty told employees in an internal memo obtained by Axios.

• "While most airlines are feeling the impact, it's especially frustrating for us, as we had hoped to reach break-even operating margin this year, which now seems unlikely."
• She added that "our path back to profitability will take longer than we'd hoped" as "we're still relying on borrowed cash to keep the airline running."

The impact: JetBlue shares closed down 7.9% to $4.21.

• Shares of Delta, Southwest and United were also down.

Zoom in: JetBlue plans to reduce flights, "especially on trough periods" like Tuesdays and Wednesdays, and cut certain routes, Geraghty said.

• The company will announce those changes "over the next few weeks."
• Other changes include a pullback in jet renovations, changes to leadership, support center cuts and travel cost reductions.

The bottom line: JetBlue is trying to avoid the fate of its would-be merger partner, Spirit Airlines, which slipped into bankruptcy after their deal collapsed.