Jblu Mx

[FDJ2]

JBLU's maintenance costs increased 275% year over year for the first quarter, what caused this? Is this a one time spike, or a trend due to heavy checks beginning and aircraft possibly coming out of warrantee?

 

[LearLove]

O no, here we go.....

 

[jetblue320]

O no, here we go.....

C'mon, it's not here we go, the man (I assume he is a man) asked a legit question.

FDJ, I don't have a clue, really. Anybody??

C yaaa

 

[Gumbydammit]

C checks....didn't have 'em before...now they gotta do 'em...not cheap...I'll bet there are a lot due to many of the planes being the same age/delivery date (i.e. maintenance base date)

 

[sandman2122]

Good Question,

BTW, does jetbue have it's own maintenace, ramp and heavy maintenance, or is it contracted out at it's outbases?

 

[JetDude]

I seem to remember reading a recent interview with Dave Neeleman that engine overhauls will approach 25 to 30 this year compared with up to 7 the previous year. That could account for a substantial amount of the increase. Also keep in mind, if maintenance costs are low at the outset, any large increase can represent a substantial percentage change in the costs. Just my two pennies worth...

 

[airbaker]

I think Gumby is really close to the mark when stating that most of the original airplanes are hitting, or have hit the "C" check cycle at or near the same time. Hopefully this will improve as we add more airplanes and reach certain economies of scale.


This short blurb was copied from an interview with DN in FastCompany:

FC: "Some costs are going to increase: The new planes will eventually need more maintenance, and employees will make more the longer they work here. How do you maintain your operating margins, or can you?

Neeleman: We've been having these conversations from the beginning. We're always looking for new technology that makes us more efficient or a better way of managing the business. If you look at last year compared to this year, fuel costs will be more this year, but that's true for everybody. And maintenance costs will be double what they were, because our engines have scheduled maintenance. The biggest chunk is for overhauls. We have 25 engines we'll send in this year and it'll be 30 next year. We haven't sent more than seven in previous years. But we've planned for this. We know we won't have a big jump the following years. Those costs will be predictable, and they'll be spread out over more planes. As we get bigger, we'll take advantage of economies of scale. We'll save on parts. We'll save on marketing."

So it looks like they went from 7 overhauls to 25 in one year. That's more than a 275% increase in overhauls.

I think it's still pretty remarkable, given the large increase in both fuel and maintenance, that costs went down a few % yoy.

 

[usav8r]

I agree with Gumby. The 1st Quarter Webcast said that JEtBlue had 16 "C" checks the first quarter of this year, and would have severasl more this year. Like he said, they are not cheap. ....

 

[727RedTails]

How many a/c does jb have, they can't be doing that many c checks they are only due every 3-4 years at most.

 

[a320drivr]

We did have something like 25-30 engine overhauls and a bunch of C checks. A few C4 checks also happened which are really expensive. For the previous poster saying that C checks only occur every 3-4 yrs is not correct. They are based on cycles and time. You have to remember we fly the hell out of these airplanes. Something like 13.8 hrs a day. The highest in the industry. I think most of the legacy carriers only avg. 9.5 to 10.5 a day.

 

[FDJ2]

C'mon, it's not here we go, the man (I assume he is a man) asked a legit question.

Thanks jetblue, it was a legitimate question, not flame bait. I asked it in a previous thread but it got lost in the clutter and no one responded.

Just to keep it in perspective, JBLU still enjoys double digit margins despite then increase in mx costs, I just was wondering what caused the spike. I've been getting good answers to my question, thanks to all.

 

[colorado418]

C checks....didn't have 'em before...now they gotta do 'em...not cheap...I'll bet there are a lot due to many of the planes being the same age/delivery date (i.e. maintenance base date)

One of our tech pilots told me that we have lots of C checks to do this year. I forget the actual number but it was over 30. Cost of business I guess...

 

[PHXFLYR]

A good back up for your CLT-LGA commute would be thru DCA and then you can take either the US Shuttle or Delta Shuttle up to LGA. Wish my commute we're that simple !


PHXFLYR