Full Video: JetBlue CEO on How Smaller Airlines Compete Now
Photo Credit: Joanna Geraghty CEO of JetBlue Airways speaking at Skift Aviation Forum in Fort Worth, Texas on December 3, 2025. Skift
Skift Take
In a lively on-stage interview, JetBlue CEO Joanna Geraghty said the deck is stacked against smaller carriers in the U.S. airline industry, where four major players control 80% of the domestic market.
Speaking Wednesday at Skift Aviation Forum 2025, JetBlue CEO Joanna Geraghty said that smaller airlines like hers will keep struggling as long as regulators and airport authorities tilt the competitive landscape toward the biggest carriers.
In a conversation with Skift airlines editor, Gordon Smith, Geraghty outlined the structural disadvantages that JetBlue faces compared to bigger players like Delta: higher aircraft costs due to smaller order books, less efficient airport operations, and repeated difficulty securing access to key markets.
"Our ask of airport authorities and others is to recognize that sometimes you do have to put your finger on the scale for the small guy, because, if you don't, then they can't succeed," Geraghty said. "And it could lead to an environment where you're left with only a legacy carrier."
Internationally, Geraghty pointed to a string of recent setbacks in securing airport slots. JetBlue received an unworkable slot in Li
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