Low-cost carrier JetBlue Airways Corporation JBLU reported first-quarter 2016 net income of $199 million or 59 cents per share compared with $137 million or 40 cents in the year-ago quarter. Earnings also outpaced the Zacks Consensus Estimate of 53 cents. Total operating revenue climbed 6.1% year over year to $1,616 million but fell short of the Zacks Consensus Estimate of $1,622 million. Passenger revenues in the quarter under review increased 4.9% year over year to $1,478 million.Operating StatisticsCapacity as well as Airline traffic, measured in revenue passenger miles, increased 14.1% year over year in the reported quarter. Moreover, load factor (percentage of seats filled by passengers) edged down 10 basis points (bps) year over year to 84.2%.Yield per passenger mile fell 8% year over year to 13.46 cents in the reported quarter. Passenger revenue per available seat mile (PRASM) dropped 8% on an annual basis to 11.35 cents while operating revenue per available seat mile decreased 7% to 12.41 cents over the same period.Operating Income and ExpensesIn the first quarter of 2016, total operating expenses decreased 1.1% year over year to $1,264 million, primarily owing to a 31.3% year-over-year decline in fuel expenses, offset by higher salaries and wages (up 21.2%). JetBlue’s operating unit cost or cost per available seat mile (CASM) deteriorated 12.6% year over year while excluding fuel and profit sharing, CASM decreased 3.6% from the year-ago quarter.Operating income came in at $349 million, up 37.8% year over year. Operating margin at the end of the first quarter of 2016 was 21.6% versus 16.6% in the same period last year.Balance SheetJetBlue ended the first quarter of 2016 with unrestricted cash and short-term investments of $757 million compared with $318 million at the end of 2015. Total debt, at the end of same period, was $1,780 million compared with $1,827 million at the end of 2015.GuidanceFor the second quarter of 2016, the carrier expects fuel price, including fuel taxes, to be $1.33 per gallon. Capacity in the second quarter of 2016 is expected to increase in the band of 9.5% and 11.5%. For full-year 2016, the metric is still expected to increase in the range of 8.5% to 10.5%. Consolidated operating cost per available seat mile, excluding fuel and profit sharing, is projected in the band of -0.5% to +1.5% for the second quarter. For full-year 2016, the metric is expected to rise in the range of 0% to 1.5%.Zacks Rank & Stocks to ConsiderJetBlue currently carries a Zacks Rank #3 (Hold). Better-ranked stocks in this sector include Air France-KLM SA AFLYY, SkyWest Inc. SKYW and Ryanair Holdings plc RYAAY. Air France-KLM sports a Zacks Rank #1 (Strong Buy) while the other two companies carry a Zacks Rank #2 (Buy).Want the latest recommendations from Zacks Investment Research? Today, you can download 7 Best Stocks for the Next 30 Days. Click to get this free report >>Want the latest recommendations from Zacks Investment Research? Today, you can download 7 Best Stocks for the Next 30 Days. Click to get this free report RYANAIR HLDGS (RYAAY): Free Stock Analysis Report JETBLUE AIRWAYS (JBLU): Free Stock Analysis Report SKYWEST INC (SKYW): Free Stock Analysis Report AIR FRANCE-ADR (AFLYY): Free Stock Analysis Report To read this article on Zacks.com click here. Zacks Investment Research