NEW YORK (CNN/Money) - Low-cost airline JetBlue Airways Corp. Wednesday boosted the price range of its initial public offering, expected this week, and can now raise as much as $143 million.

JetBlue now expects to sell 5.5 million shares at $25 to $26 each, up from $22 to $24, via lead underwriters Morgan Stanley and Merrill Lynch. Underwriters have an over-allotment option, or greenshoe, to buy 825,000 more shares.

The Kew Gardens, N.Y.-based airline began operations in February 2000 and currently offers 108 flights a day serving 18 different cities across the United States. While touted as low-cost, the airline provides such perks as leather seats and free direct satellite TV.

Like other airlines, JetBlue suffered dramatically from the terrorist attack of Sept. 11 and experienced a serious drop in demand. But JetBlue's level of operations and passenger traffic has rebounded and are now near the levels it anticipated before the attack, the company said in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

The 2-year-old airline is also profitable, with $26.8 million in operating income on $320.4 million in revenue for the year ended Dec. 31, compared to $21.2 million in operating losses on $104.6 million in revenue for the year before.

JetBlue plans to price its offering on Thursday and trade Friday under the Nasdaq ticker JBLU.