Alaska Air Group Reports March Traffic

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

ALASKA AIRLINES

Alaska reported a 2.9-point increase in load factor to 84.5 percent in March 2010, compared to 81.6 percent in March 2009, on a 2.2 percent increase in available seat miles (ASMs) compared to the prior-year period. Alaska also reported that 87.2 percent of its flights arrived on time in March 2010, a 17.0-point increase compared to the 70.2 percent reported in March 2009. Last year’s on-time performance was negatively impacted by the eruption of Mount Redoubt in Alaska. The airline’s on-time performance for the 12 months ended January 2010 was the best among the 10 largest domestic carriers, according to the U.S. Department of Transportation.

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

                                  March                  Year-to-Date
                                  -----                  ------------
                            2010   2009  Change    2010   2009    Change
                            ----   ----  ------    ----   ----    ------
  Revenue passenger miles
      RPMs (000,000)       1,650  1,559      5.8% 4,472  4,179        7.0%
  Available seat miles
      ASMs (000,000)       1,953  1,910      2.2% 5,541  5,520        0.4%
  Passenger load factor     84.5%  81.6%  2.9pts   80.7%  75.7%    5.0pts
  Revenue passengers (000) 1,351  1,344      0.5% 3,641  3,573        1.9%
  On-time arrivals as
   reported
    to U.S. DOT             87.2%  70.2% 17.0pts   86.4%  72.5%   13.9pts
    -----------             ----   ----  -------   ----   ----    -------


  HORIZON AIR

Horizon reported a 3.8-point increase in load factor to 73.3 percent in March 2010, compared to 69.5 percent in March 2009, on a 1.0 percent increase in available seat miles (ASMs) compared to the prior-year period. Horizon also reported that 91.1 percent of its flights arrived on time in March 2010, a 5.1-point increase compared to the 86.0 percent reported in March 2009. Forbes.com, using 2009 data from FlightStats, recently ranked Horizon No. 5 in the world in on-time performance.

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

                              March                 Year-to-Date
                              -----                 ------------
                        2010  2009  Change    2010     2009   Change
                        ----  ----  ------    ----     ----   ------
  RPMs (000,000)         204   191      6.6%   566      524       8.0%
  ASMs (000,000)         278   276      1.0%   793      787       0.8%
  Passenger load factor 73.3% 69.5%  3.8pts   71.4%    66.6%   4.8pts
  Revenue passengers
   (000)                 566   558      1.4% 1,584    1,546       2.5%
  On-time arrivals      91.1% 86.0%  5.1pts   88.8%    81.2%   7.6pts
  ----------------      ----  ----   ------   ----     ----    ------

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 and 2009 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.