Alaska Air Group to Give Stockholders Say on Executive Pay

The Alaska Air Group board of directors today announced plans to seek stockholder ratification of the compensation for the company’s five highest-paid executives through an advisory resolution in its 2009 proxy statement.

Scheduled to be filed by April 1, the proxy statement will include a board proposal giving stockholders a nonbinding vote on compensation for the company’s named executive officers. This so-called "say on pay" resolution will inform the board’s future decisions on executive compensation.

"The move to become one of the first public companies in the nation to voluntarily solicit stockholder input on executive pay reflects Alaska’s ongoing commitment to equitable pay practices at all levels of the organization," said Phyllis Campbell, chair of the compensation committee of Alaska Air Group’s board of directors. "The board has long been concerned about trends in executive compensation that have led to excessive pay packages and ultimate harm to stockholders, customers and employees. We welcome stockholder input on a long-established pay structure that we believe effectively aligns executives’ interests with those of our key stakeholders by offering modest base pay, with the opportunity to reach the market midpoint for performance that benefits stockholders, customers and employees."

The board’s decision to include an advisory resolution on executive compensation in this year’s proxy statement follows a proposal by stockholders to do so that received a majority of proxy votes in 2008.

Alaska Air Group is the holding company for Alaska Airlines and Horizon Air, which 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.