JetBlue posts gains in traffic, key revenue figure

NEW YORK (AP) - JetBlue Airways said Thursday that traffic grew faster than it added seats, and a key revenue figure rose in August.

Passengers flew 3.72 billion miles last month, an increase of 6.7% compared to a year earlier. That eclipsed JetBlue's 4.9% increase in capacity, so planes were more crowded.

JetBlue said the average flight last month was 88.3% full, compared with 86.8% in August 2013.

The airline added that passenger revenue for every seat flown one mile grew 4% from a year earlier. That is a closely watched figure in the airline business, and it rises when carriers sell a higher percentage of seats, raise average fares, or both.

JetBlue also said that 77.4% of its flights arrived on time in August. In July, JetBlue had the worst record among 14 leading airlines tracked by the government, with just 65.8% of flights arriving on time, about 10 points below average. A JetBlue spokesman said the airline has changed the handling of spare planes and operations center employees to respond better to delays.