JetBlue in the Contrails

To borrow from Tolstoy, all successful airlines resemble one another, while each unsuccessful airline is unsuccessful in its own way.

The former can be said of the majority of the eight largest airlines operating outside of bankruptcy court, the latter of JetBlue(JBLU Quote - Cramer on JBLU - Stock Picks).

AirTran(AAI Quote - Cramer on AAI - Stock Picks) and Southwest Airlines(LUV Quote - Cramer on LUV - Stock Picks) just reported their best quarters ever. Continental Airlines(CAL Quote - Cramer on CAL - Stock Picks) had its best quarter in five years.

AMR(AMR Quote - Cramer on AMR - Stock Picks) reported its best second quarter in eight years, and UAL(UAUA Quote - Cramer on UAUA - Stock Picks) turned in its first profitable second quarter in six years.

Then there's JetBlue, the New York-based low-fare carrier that notably failed to report sharply improved earnings in the second quarter. Profits were flat year over year, its load factor declined and it said future earnings will depend on what fuel prices do.

The story of JetBlue is certainly unique. Though it began flying in 2000, it already has the problems of an old airline -- costs that are too high and revenue that's too low. It's trying to reduce expenses, largely by dropping from 91 to 80 employees per airplane. The company is trying to boost revenue per available seat mile by flying smaller planes shorter distances and by better management of its ticket prices.

During the past six years, JetBlue has followed a variety of strategies. First it planned to use 156-seat Airbus A320s to fly between New York's Kennedy Airport and roughly 40 eastern U.S. cities. Then it began focusing on flying from Kennedy to Florida and the West Coast. Then it decided to renew its focus on the eastern cities, but with 100-seat Embraer E190 aircraft. Now it's selling five A320s.

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