Alaska Airlines - backbone carrier to Alaska

October 11, 2012

Alaska Airlines is the largest airline operating in Alaska. It provides key passenger and freight services to major centres from the lower 48 states.

• Alaska Airline carries 17.8 M passengers per year. It is the seventh-largest US airline in terms of passenger traffic. Alaska Airlines is headquartered in Seattle and currently operates its largest hub at Seattle–Tacoma International Airport. It serves 65 cities, only 20 of which are in Alaska. On average it has 435 daily departures. 
• According to the Alaska Resource Development Council Alaska had 1.5 million visitors in 2010: 58% (878,000) came by cruise, and 37% (551,600) came by air. The visitor by air component is growing steadily and never suffered the same downturn as cruise and road traffic after 2007.
• Its fleet consists of 120 Boeing 737 aircraft. Actually only 17% of its aircraft capacity is devoted to Alaska—about 20 aircraft. Alaska Airlines announced an order for 50 Boeing aircraft, including the 737 MAX—the new engine variant of the world’s best-selling airliner. The aircraft will be delivered between 2015 and 2022 represent the largest order in Alaska Airlines’ history, worth about $5 billion.
• The Alaska Air Group has 8,900 employees. About 1,500- 1,749 of these employees are based in Alaska.  In 2012, J. D. Power and Associates ranked Alaska Airlines highest in customer satisfaction for traditional North American airlines. This is the fifth consecutive year that Alaska Airlines has won the J. D. Power Award.
• Alaska Air Group, Inc. is the holding company for Alaska Airlines, Inc. (Alaska) and Horizon Air Industries, Inc. (Horizon), which provide scheduled air transportation for passengers and cargo throughout the United States, Canada and Mexico. Alaska Air group trades on the NYSE symbol ALK. Share price $36.56, up from about $30 a year ago. ALK’s market cap is $2.6B.
• 2012 ALK’s revenues are expected at $4.6 B.

Commentary

Alaska Airlines is the largest air carrier in the north, but Alaska’s operations amount to less then 1/5th of ALK’s capacity. Alaska Airlines has high customer satisfaction ratings and plays an important role in bringing tourists to the state.

Sources

• a)http://phx.corporate-ir.net/phoenix.zhtml?c=109361&p=irol-IRHome



• b)http://phx.corporate-ir.net/phoenix.zhtml?c=109361&p=irol-newsArticle&ID=1744122&highlight=



• c)http://labor.alaska.gov/research/lgstemp/lgstemp.htm



• d)http://www.akrdc.org/issues/tourism/overview.html



• e)http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Alaska_Airlines