JetBlue sees cheaper luxury seats spurring trans-Atlantic travel

JetBlue Airways is ready to brag about its premium offerings on potential trans-Atlantic routes, even if it hasn’t yet decided whether to start flying to Europe. If it jumps into one of the world’s busiest markets for business travel, the airline would be betting on replicating the success it’s had on cross-country US flights with its high-end Mint cabin. The product cut premium fares as much as 50% while generating financial returns that exceeded the company’s own expectations, JetBlue said. “We know we can compete in the front cabin with any airline that provides trans-Atlantic service," President Joanna Geraghty said. “There are a lot of customers and a lot of premium seats. We only need a small incremental part to be very successful." JetBlue is studying the growth and profit potential of trans-Atlantic flights while rolling out a plan to revive its shares by revamping operations. The changes, laid out earlier this month, include improving JetBlue’s industry-lagging on-time performance, cutting costs with new or renegotiated maintenance contracts and beefing up service in New York, Boston and Fort Lauderdale, Florida. <br/>