Alaska Air Group Reports December Traffic

Alaska Air Group, Inc. today reported December operational results for its subsidiaries, Alaska Airlines (Alaska) and Horizon Air (Horizon).

ALASKA AIRLINES

Alaska reported a nearly five-point increase in load factor to 80.7 percent in December 2008, compared to 75.8 percent in December 2007, on a 10.9 percent decline in available seat miles (ASMs) compared to the prior-year period. Alaska also reported that 58.4 percent of its flights arrived on time in December 2008, a 12.7-point decrease compared to the 71.1 percent reported in December 2007. The decline was primarily caused by severe winter storms that adversely affected operations in Seattle and Portland in the last two weeks of December. The following tables show the operational results for December 2008 and for the full year 2008 compared to the prior-year periods:

                                  December                Year-to-Date
                             2008   2007   Change      2008    2007  Change

  Revenue passenger miles
  (RPMs) (000,000)          1,482  1,563   (5.2)%    18,711  18,452  1.4%
  Available seat miles
  (ASMs) (000,000)          1,836  2,061  (10.9)%    24,218  24,210  0.0%
  Passenger load factor      80.7%  75.8%   4.9 pts    77.3%   76.2% 1.1 pts
  Revenue passengers (000)  1,277  1,436  (11.1)%    16,809  17,559 (4.3)%
  On-time arrivals as
   reported to U.S. DOT      58.4%  71.1% (12.7) pts   78.3%   72.4% 5.9 pts



  HORIZON AIR

Horizon reported a slight increase in load factor to 72.8 percent in December 2008, compared to 72.4 percent in December 2007, on a 21.8 percent decline in capacity compared to the prior-year period. Horizon’s operations were also adversely affected by the weather in December and reported that 53.6 percent of its flights arrived on time in December 2008, a 13-point decrease compared to the 66.6 percent reported in December 2007. The following tables show the operational results for December 2008 and for the full year of 2008 compared to the prior-year periods:

                                December                Year-to-Date
                           2008   2007   Change      2008    2007  Change

  RPMs (000,000)            183    233  (21.5)%     2,635   2,918  (9.7)%
  ASMs (000,000)            251    321  (21.8)%     3,617   3,978  (9.1)%
  Passenger load factor    72.8%  72.4%   0.4 pts    72.9%   73.4% (0.5) pts
  Revenue passengers (000)  532    637  (16.5)%     7,390   7,552  (2.1)%
  On-time arrivals         53.6%  66.6% (13.0) pts   83.1%   80.7%  2.4 pts

Alaska Airlines and Horizon Air, subsidiaries of Alaska Air Group , 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 (tie)" in the J.D. Power and Associates 2008 North America Airline Satisfaction Study(SM). For reservations, visit alaskaair.com. For more news and information, visit the Alaska Airlines/Horizon Air Newsroom at alaskaair.com/newsroom.

First Call Analyst:
FCMN Contact: maria.koenig@alaskaair.com

SOURCE: Alaska Air Group, Inc.