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NEW YORK --

JetBlue Airways Corp. on Thursday joined just three other major U.S. airlines in reporting a profit for 2009.

The Forest Hills, N.Y.-based carrier made a profit every quarter last year as its low-cost model and contracts that locked in the price of jet fuel kept it from posting losses common at some of the bigger domestic airlines.

For the full-year, JetBlue reported a profit of $58 million, or 20 cents per share, compared with a year-ago loss of $85 million, or 37 cents per share.

JetBlue said it expects sales to be hurt in the first half of 2010 by its planned transition to a new reservation system and aircraft maintenance costs.

The carrier expects to expand its presence further in and out of Boston and the Caribbean, where bookings have been strong. JetBlue said its capacity, or the size and number of planes, will decrease in the rest of the cities it serves this year.

The airline posted a profit of $11 million, or 4 cents a share in the fourth quarter, compared to a loss of $58 million, or 25 cents a share, for the same period in 2008. Revenue rose 2.6 percent to $832 million from $811 million.

Thomson Reuters says analysts expected profit of 3 cents per share on revenue of $827.9 million.