Or, at the very least, while stomaching not-too-unreasonable losses. Unless oil prices plummet—a highly unlikely scenario—it appears that JetBlue is going to have to settle for losing a little less than the competition for now. But it is better off than almost everybody. According to Goldman Sachs analyst Glenn Engel, JetBlue will have break-even cash flow in 2006 if oil prices find their way back to $53 a barrel. Delta and Continental need $43, and Northwest an even more improbable $34.

For now, Neeleman seems perfectly content to sit back and watch his rivals continue to suffer. “We can tolerate this level of prices for a long time,” he says, without sounding like he’s lying through his teeth. “We may not be profitable as we tolerate them, but we can tolerate them—a lot longer than our competitors can. Companies built for the good times go out of business in the bad times. This company was built for the bad times.” Perhaps 2005 will turn out to be JetBlue’s year after all.

Related:

• Archive: “Features”
• Articles by Duff McDonald
• Table of Contents: Oct 17, 2005 issue of New York | Subscribe!