Unless you had gone cold turkey on the boob tube yesterday, odds are that you are already familiar with the fate of JetBlue (NASDAQ:JBLU) flight 292. Faulty landing gear forced the crew into a successful emergency landing in Los Angeles after circling around for three hours to consume the fuel inside the Airbus A320 aircraft.
The interesting tidbit here is that many of the passengers didn't realize the gravity of their situation until they saw themselves on the television monitors perched in front of their seats.
That's because JetBlue offers a selection of live DirecTV (NYSE:DTV) televised programming for every passenger. This could have been an ugly disaster, but it wound up being a pretty decent plug for JetBlue. The only thing missing was a testimonial praising the carrier's cozy leather seats as a way to make the tenuous hours go by before the flight hit the runway.
JetBlue is a low-cost carrier, but it certainly doesn't act that way. In addition to DirecTV, the company has partnered with XM Satellite Radio (NASDAQ:XMSR) to provide digital radio streams in-flight. As a satisfied customer, I can also vouch for the decent assortment in onboard complimentary snacks.
No, I'm not suggesting that JetBlue took advantage of this potentially catastrophic situation to pitch its wares. However, hearing frazzled passengers discuss the surreal situation of watching their fate unfold on live television can't be a bad thing for JetBlue. Who knows? Maybe this will pique the interest of lifelong Southwest (NYSE:LUV) passengers and spur them to try its thrifty rival.
JetBlue can use the boost. The company was growing nicely -- in a very ugly sector -- until 2004 came around and the company posted lower earnings during every single quarter. Now its streak of quarterly profitability is at stake.
With its stock trading at more than 60% off its all-time highs back in the summer of 2003, this would certainly be an interesting time to approach the stock if one felt that the operating lull were temporary.
That's because the company keeps growing. It has its Airbus aircraft and new fleet of Embraer (NYSE:ERJ) jets ready to continue the expansion process. Since the stock peaked two summers ago, revenue has soared by 80%. Getting operating margins in line to the point where they can keep up with the company's top line gains would likely result in some superior stock market gains.
As fate would have it, last week's Dueling Fools looked at the bull and bear opinions on JetBlue. With the arguments and rebuttals from both camps, you get the sense that this is a pretty dynamic company going through some growing pains. After 18 straight quarters of profitability, higher jet fuel prices and a turbulent travel industry will test JetBlue's resolve.
If the company's operating skills are as good as the crack crew of the 292 that landed the troublesome airplane, it will be another safe landing for JetBlue, sparks and all.
Both JetBlue and Embraer have been past equity recommendations in Motley Fool Stock Advisor .
Longtime Fool contributor Rick Munarriz has enjoyed the two JetBlue flights that he has taken. He does not own shares in any company mentioned in this story. The Fool has a disclosure policy. He is also part of the Rule Breakers newsletter research team, seeking out tomorrow's ultimate growth stocks a day early.
