Carl Icahn and JetBlue have reached an agreement to give seats on the company’s board of directors to Jesse Lynn, general counsel of Icahn Enterprises, and Steven Miller, portfolio manager of Icahn Capital.
The deal, and the prior announcement of Icahn’s stake in the company, come after JetBlue’s CEO stepped down Jan. 8 and a federal court blocked the airline’s merger with Spirit Jan. 16.
Icahn may have sought the board seats in order to better size up new CEO Joanna Geraghty, who took over Feb. 12, and to help her as she works to close the airline’s valuation gap.
JetBlue last made an annual profit in 2019. Meanwhile, American, Delta, United and Southwest have all turned a profit post-pandemic. To improve finances, the airline is planning up to $200 million in cost-cutting initiatives this year, along with $300 million in new revenue initiatives.
