Carl Icahn wins seats on JetBlue board after taking stake in airline

Carl
Icahn
won
his
push
for
seats
on


JetBlue
Airways’
board
of
directors,
according
to
a
statement
from
the
airline
Friday,
days
after
disclosing
a

nearly
10%
stake
in
the
New
York-based
airline
and
that
he
was
in
talks
for
board
representation
there.

The
two
new
directors
are Jesse
Lynn,
general
counsel
of
Icahn
Enterprises,
and
Steven
Miller,
a
portfolio
manager
of
Icahn
Capital.

Shares
of
JetBlue
were
up
about
4%
in
after-hours
trading
following
the
announcement.

The
JetBlue
investment
isn’t
Icahn’s
first
investment
in
the
airline
industry.
In
one
of
his
more
infamous
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
stake
that
he
believes
the
shares
are
undervalued.
JetBlue’s
stock
is
down
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%
during
the
same
period.

JetBlue’s
new
CEO,
Joanna
Geraghty,
took
the
helm
Monday,
and
the
carrier
has
appointed
a
pair
of
airline
veterans
to get
it
back
on
track.

“Building
on
our
distinct
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
move
forward
with
that
common
goal,”
Geraghty
said
in
a
statement
on
Friday.

JetBlue
hasn’t
posted
a
profit
since
before
the
Covid-19
pandemic
and
has
been
cutting
costs,
trying
to
become
more
reliable
after
a
post-Covid
travel
surge
and
a blocked
merger with
budget
carrier Spirit
Airlines.
A
federal
judge
last
month
ruled
against
a
combination
of
the
two
airlines,
citing
reduced
competition.

JetBlue
had
argued
it
needed
the
tie-up
to
help
it
compete
against
the
largest
American
carriers.
JetBlue
and
Spirit
are
appealing
the
judge’s
ruling.

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