A JetBlue Airways aircraft prepares to take off from Fort Lauderdale-Hollywood International Airport in Fort Lauderdale, Florida, Jan. 31, 2024.
Joe Raedle | Getty Images
Carl Icahn won his push for seats JetBlue Airways’ He was appointed to the board, days after it was announced that he owns a nearly 10% stake in the New York-based airline and that he is in talks to have board representation there, according to a statement from the airline on Friday appointed.
The two new directors are Jesse Lynn, general counsel of Icahn Enterprises, and Steven Miller, portfolio manager of Icahn Capital.
Shares of JetBlue rose about 4% in after-hours trading following the announcement.
The JetBlue investment is not Icahn’s first investment in the airline industry. In one of his more notorious activist campaigns, the corporate raider took TWA private in the late 1980s, and the airline struggled and filed for bankruptcy.
Icahn said in disclosing his JetBlue holding that he believes the shares are undervalued. JetBlue shares have fallen more than 19% over the past 12 months as of Friday’s close. The NYSE Arca Airline Index, which tracks the broader sector, is up about 7% over the same period.
JetBlue’s new CEO Joanna Geraghty took the helm on Monday, and the airline has appointed two airline veterans to get it back on track.
“Building on our distinctive brand and unique value proposition, we are focused on delivering value to our shareholders and all of our stakeholders, and we welcome the contributions of our new board members as we advance this shared goal,” Geraghty said in a statement on Friday.
JetBlue has not turned a profit since before the Covid-19 pandemic and has cut costs to become more reliable after a post-Covid surge in travel and a stalled merger with a budget airline Spirit Airlines. A federal judge ruled last month against a merger between the two airlines, citing reduced competition.
JetBlue had argued that it needed the merger to compete with America’s largest airlines. JetBlue and Spirit are appealing the judge’s ruling.
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2024-02-17 03:05:37
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