JetBlue narrows loss forecast on healthy travel demand, shares rise

(Reuters) - JetBlue Airways on Thursday narrowed its annual adjusted loss forecast, riding on strong demand for travel during the holiday period and sending its shares 7% higher in premarket trading.

U.S. airlines have reiterated the resilience in travel demand, even as concerns linger about the potential impact of rising interest rates on customers' disposable income.

"Since late October, close-in bookings have outperformed expectations for both holiday peak and non-holiday travel periods," JetBlue said in a regulatory filing on Thursday.

The company now expects 2023 per-share adjusted loss to be in the range of 50 cents to 40 cents, compared with its previous forecast of 65 cents to 45 cents.

JetBlue, which is the middle of a legal battle over its acquisition of Spirit Airlines, also tightened its annual revenue growth forecast to 4% to 5%, compared with an increase of 3% to 5% estimated earlier.

(Reporting by Shivansh Tiwary in Bengaluru; Editing by Sriraj Kalluvila)