Alaska Air Group Reports July Traffic, Record Load Factors

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Aug 03, 2010, 05:36 ET

SEATTLE, Aug. 3 /PRNewswire-FirstCall/ -- Alaska Air Group, Inc. (NYSE: ALK) today reported July operational results for its subsidiaries, Alaska Airlines (Alaska) and Horizon Air (Horizon).

ALASKA AIRLINES

Alaska reported an 11.0 percent increase in traffic on a 7.1 percent increase in capacity, resulting in a 3.1-point increase in load factor to a record 87.4 percent. Alaska also reported that 88.6 percent of its flights arrived on time in July 2010, a 1.4-point increase compared to the 87.2 percent reported in July 2009.

The following table shows the operational results for July 2010 and for the first seven months of 2010, compared to the prior-year periods:

	July			Year-to-Date
	2010	2009	Change	2010	2009	Change
Revenue passenger miles
RPMs (in millions)	1,986	1,790	11.0%	11,530	10,583	9.0%
Available seat miles
ASMs (in millions)	2,274	2,123	7.1%	13,927	13,495	3.2%
Passenger load factor	87.4%	84.3%	3.1pts	82.8%	78.4%	4.4pts
Revenue passengers (in thousands)	1,619	1,507	7.4%	9,431	9,063	4.1%
On-time arrivals as reported
to U.S. DOT	88.6%	87.2%	1.4pts	88.5%	80.2%	8.3pts

HORIZON AIR

Horizon reported a 1.3 percent increase in traffic on flat capacity compared to July 2009, resulting in a 1.0-point increase in load factor to a record 81.6 percent. Horizon also reported that 81.5 percent of its flights arrived on time in July 2010, a 6.8-point decrease compared to the 88.3 percent reported in July 2009.

The following table shows the operational results for July 2010 and for the first seven months of 2010, compared to the prior-year periods:

	July			Year-to-Date
	2010	2009	Change	2010	2009	Change
RPMs (in millions)	241	238	1.3%	1,430	1,371	4.3%
ASMs (in millions)	296	296	0.0%	1,922	1,911	0.6%
Passenger load factor	81.6%	80.6%	1.0pts	74.4%	71.8%	2.6pts
Revenue passengers (in thousands)	645	637	1.3%	3,934	3,877	1.5%
On-time arrivals	81.5%	88.3%	(6.8)pts	88.2%	85.5%	2.7pts

Alaska Airlines and Horizon Air, subsidiaries of Alaska Air Group (NYSE: ALK), together serve more than 90 cities through an expansive network in Alaska, the Lower 48, Hawaii, Canada and Mexico. Alaska Airlines ranked "Highest in Customer Satisfaction Among Traditional Network Carriers" in the J.D. Power and Associates 2008, 2009 and 2010 North America Airline Satisfaction Studies(SM). For reservations, visit alaskaair.com. For more news and information, visit the Alaska Airlines/Horizon Air Newsroom at alaskaair.com/newsroom.

SOURCE Alaska Air Group, Inc.