Another Gamble for JetBlue

Once again, JetBlue Airways (JBLU Quote) is going against the grain in the airline industry.

It was JetBlue that made Kennedy International Airport work, when nobody thought it would. JetBlue said amenities belong in coach class, not just in first class. Now, JetBlue is focused on operating two aircraft types, when most other medium-sized carriers are scrambling to operate just one.

Previously committed to growing with a fleet of Airbus 320s seating 156 passengers, JetBlue now says it will sell two to five of its 89 A320s and defer deliveries of 12 more. Because high fuel prices have a big impact on its long-haul routes, the carrier wants to reduce flights from its hub at New York's Kennedy to Florida and the West Coast.

Instead, it will focus on expanding short-haul routes, such as New York to Charlotte, N.C., with Embraer 190s seating 100 passengers. JetBlue currently operates 13 E190s. The carrier will add 18 this year and 18 more in 2007.

By contrast, Alaska Air Group (ALK Quote) unit Alaska Air, which has 113 aircraft, is investing $750 million to replace its 26 MD-80s and fly only Boeing 737s. Frontier Airlines (FRNT Quote) operates a fleet of 49 Airbus jets, after converting from an all-Boeing fleet.

Spirit Airlines will have 31 Airbus jets at the end of the year, after getting rid of its MD-80s. The principal exception, so far, has been AirTran Holdings (AAI Quote) unit AirTran Airways, which operates two fleet types.

Shaking Confidence

Low-fare leader Southwest Airlines (LUV Quote) essentially designed the model for post-legacy airlines. Southwest remains committed to operating a single aircraft type, the Boeing 737, and it has 451 of them. Last year, the company considered adding regional jets to its fleet, but decided against it.

"Simplicity is the key," says Southwest spokesman Ed Stewart. "It is a marvelous thing to have crews that can fly on any airplane at any time, and to have a maintenance department work on a single aircraft type."