Alaska Air Group Reports July Traffic, Record Load Factors

Alaska Air Group, Inc. 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 , 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.

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

SOURCE: Alaska Air Group, Inc.