After enjoying another year of revenue and net profit growth, JetBlue Airways (B6, New York JFK) is looking to reduce its annual costs by up to USD300 million by 2020.

At its investor day, the US LCC outlined its plan to focus on sustaining its relative margin gains. jetBlue has seen steady annual increases in passenger revenue of between 7.5 – 11.5% since 2012. The introduction of fare options – the new Mint class – brought in USD35 million more than expected for a total of USD100 million in 2015, with 2016 on track to deliver an extra USD60 million on the USD200 million forecast. Income from other sources has been higher than expected, such as revenues from co-branded credit cards, and ancillary revenue stands at USD25 per customer.

To hang on to these gains, jetBlue is turning its attention to cost cutting, with a commitment to structural savings of USD250-300 million by 2020. Hoping to capitalise on economies of scale, these savings will come primarily from technical operations. Improvements to maintenance planning, crew resourcing, and parts optimisation are expected to deliver savings of USD100-125 million. Customer self-service and capex governance will hopefully save USD55-65 million, with the remainder of savings coming from corporate automation and distribution strategies.

jetBlue’s stock rose to USD22.86 following the news, its highest level since February 2016.

jetBlue serves 101 destinations in twenty-four countries, primarily in the US, Central and South America, with a fleet of 225 aircraft.