Alaska Air Group Reports November Operational Results

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

ALASKA AIRLINES

Alaska reported a load factor of 76.7 percent in November 2008, unchanged from November 2007, on a 6.8 percent decline in available seat miles (ASMs) compared to the prior-year period. Alaska also reported that 81.4 percent of its flights arrived on time in November 2008, a 3.5-point increase over the 77.9 percent reported in November 2007. The following tables show the operational results for November 2008 and the first 11 months of 2008 compared to the prior-year periods:

                                  November                Year-to-Date
                            2008    2007   Change    2008     2007    Change

  Revenue passenger miles
   (RPMs or "traffic")
   (000,000)               1,402   1,506   (6.9)%   17,229   16,889    2.0%

  Available seat miles
   (ASMs) (000,000)        1,829   1,963   (6.8)%   22,382   22,149    1.1%

  Passenger load factor     76.7%   76.7%    --       77.0%    76.3%   0.7
                                                                       pts

  Revenue passengers
   (000)                   1,224   1,394  (12.2)%   15,532   16,123   (3.7)%

  On-time arrivals as
   reported to U.S. DOT     81.4%   77.9%   3.5       79.9%    72.5%   7.4
                                            pts                        pts


  HORIZON AIR

Horizon reported a decline in load factor to 70.5 percent in November 2008, compared to 73.4 percent in November 2007, on a 20.7 percent decline in capacity compared to the prior-year period. Horizon also reported that 83.5 percent of its flights arrived on time in November 2008, a 1.7-point increase over the 81.8 percent reported in November 2007. The following tables show the operational results for November 2008 and the first 11 months of 2008 compared to the prior-year periods:

                                   November               Year-to-Date
                             2008   2007    Change     2008  2007   Change

  RPMs (000,000)             181    238    (23.9)%   2,452  2,686   (8.7)%
  ASMs (000,000)             257    324    (20.7)%   3,366  3,657   (8.0)%
  Passenger load factor     70.5%  73.4%    (2.9)     72.9%  73.4%  (0.5)
                                             pts                     pts
  Revenue passengers
   (000)                     525    626    (16.1)%   6,857  6,915   (0.8)%
  On-time arrivals as
   reported to U.S. DOT     83.5%  81.8%     1.7      85.3%  82.0%   3.3
                                             pts                     pts

Alaska Airlines and sister carrier Horizon Air 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 http://www.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.