Joanna Geraghty

Geraghty graduated from the College of the Holy Cross with a Bachelor of Arts in sociology in 1994. She then earned a Master of Arts in international relations in 1997 from the Maxwell School of Citizenship and Public Affairs at Syracuse University and her Juris Doctor (J.D.) from the Syracuse University College of Law in 2017.

After law school, Geraghty first worked on aviation litigation at a small law firm before moving to the law firm Holland & Knight. In 2005 she was hired by JetBlue to serve as their director of litigation. She later served as the company's human resources officer. Starting in 2018 she served as president and chief operating officer, a position she held until 2024.

Geraghty was named chief executive of JetBlue in 2024, making her the first female CEO of a major airline.

Under her leadership, JetBlue underwent a fleet modernization—retiring its older Embraer E190 fleet and replacing them with new Airbus A220 aircraft in 2025. JetBlue also began introducing domestic first-class seating options, airport lounges at key hubs like JFK, and targeted premium loyalty offerings.

During her tenure, JetBlue reported a net loss of $795 million in 2024 and a $602 million net loss in 2025. Despite these loses, leadership denied bankruptcy. As a result, the airline trimmed capacity, exited or scaled back on unprofitable routes (such as Manchester, New Hampshire and Caribbean routes), and delayed roughly $3 billion in new aircraft orders.

Her tenure at JetBlue was also marked with numerous controversies. In April 2026, a customer posted on X complaining that a last-minute flight ticket they were trying to buy to attend a funeral had surged by $230 in a single day. The official JetBlue account responded by suggesting that the user clears attempt to clear their cache and cookies or book flights with an incognito window—causing privacy advocates, lawmakers, and consumers to raise alarms on the use of embedded tracking software to surveil user behavior and dynamically inflate ticket prices once they show high interest in a flight. In response, Democratic lawmakers, including Rep. Greg Casar and Sen. Ruben Gallego, launched a formal inquiry, demanding details from Geraghty regarding consumer data and algorithmic pricing.

In August 2026, JetBlue was hit with another proposed class-action lawsuit in California seeking over $5 million in damage, where plaintiffs claim JetBlue engaged in "drip pricing" and false advertising by upselling customers to more expensive base fares (such as its legacy "Blue" tier) under the promise of "free seat selection." In September 2026, aviation youtuber Noel Philips documented a rude encounter with a JetBlue employee at Orlando International Airport, which the check-in counter desk agent yelled at him "I don't care if you miss your flight" when Noel attempted to seek assistance from JetBlue over an issue with his boarding pass despite having properly checked into a flight to San Juan.

Geraghty also serves on the board of directors of the JetBlue Foundation, Airlines for America (A4A), L3Harris Technologies, and is chairperson of the board of Concern Worldwide, an international not for profit.