Low cost airline JetBlue has continued to defy the industry's biggest-ever downturn, reporting a 37% increase in quarterly profits.

The New York-based carrier was bullish about its prospects amid continuing gloom from larger rivals.

But plane-maker Boeing reported a sharp downturn in quarterly profits and said there was more bad news to come.

The aerospace giant has deferred delivery of 500 commercial jets since the 11 September attacks.

Slow recovery

The company, which also specialises in space and defence contracts, has predicted no significant increase in commercial jet deliveries until 2005.

Stripping out the direct effects of 11 September, Boeing saw fourth quarter profits fall 21% to $571m, or 71 cents a share.

The company also lowered its projection for 2003 revenue to $49bn from $50bn.

It said it expected to deliver between 275 and 285 commercial jets, down about 27% from 381 deliveries in 2002.

Rich Turgeon, of Victory Capital Management, which owns two million Boeing shares, said: "This confirms Boeing is in a very, very slow recovery."

One bright spot for Boeing is the expected announcement on Friday of further orders for narrow-bodied 737s from rapidly-expanding Irish carrier Ryanair.

But Spanish airline Iberia said on Thursday it had decided to order nine European-built Airbus A340-600 planes, with options for another three, to replace ageing Boeing 747s in its fleet.

Competition

Meanwhile, JetBlue, which is known for offering in-flight satellite television, said it made a fourth quarter profit of $15.2m, or 22 cents per share.

That compares to a profit of $11.1m in the same quarter last year.

Chief Executive David Neeleman said: "We attribute this success to our strong brand and loyal customer following, our efficient utilization of assets and our continued emphasis on cost control as we grow."

JetBlue has said it is not unduly worried about competition from Song, the low-cost carrier to be launched in April by Delta Airlines.

Song's lime-green planes will also have in-flight satellite television, in addition to personal touch-screen monitors, pay-per-view, an MP3 audio library and in-seat internet connections.

The carrier, which replaces Delta Express, will offer one-way fares ranging from $79 to $299 from North-Eastern US to Florida.

Job losses

In a separate development, Trinidad and Tobago's national airline BWIA is to lay off more than 600 workers.

The company's maintenance and duty-free operations have been outsourced to private contractors.

The company has described itself as being in "serious financial trouble", estimating its net losses for 2002 at around �29m.

It has said it wants to streamline its operations along the lines of low-cost operators such as JetBlue and SouthWest Airlines.