Summer travel recovery restores Alaska Airlines stability growth plans Alaska - Airline HEAD TOPICS

Summer travel recovery restores Alaska Airlines stability growth plans

10/21/2022 11:24:00 PM

After a nightmarish breakdown in its operations in the spring the airline recovered in the quarter to lead the industry in on-time performance

Alaska Airline

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Anchorage Daily News

Alaska Air Group posted record third-quarter revenue and strong financial results Thursday, stoked by high fares and full airplanes through the summer. Via seattletimes After a nightmarish breakdown in its operations in the spring the airline recovered in the quarter to lead the industry in on-time performance “This summer we returned to delivering a reliable operation with a completion rate over 99% each month of the quarter,” Minicucci told analysts on an earnings call Thursday. That means less than 1% of flights were canceled.ADVERTISEMENTChief Financial Officer Shane Tackett said the company gave every employee 90,000 frequent-flyer miles “in recognition of all of their extraordinary work during the pandemic and our 90th anniversary as an airline.” He said the exceptionally large pay increases awarded last month to the entry-level pilots at Horizon Air “provides us a strong foundation for our efforts in attracting, retaining and building a robust pilot pipeline.”With air travel demand high and fewer seats available, passengers were stuck with soaring ticket prices across the industry this summer and airlines raked in money as a result. Read more:
Anchorage Daily News » Annual AK Ski Swap set for Saturday American Airlines posts $483 million profit for summer travel season WATCH: Gubernatorial candidate Debate for the State 2022 Alaska elections official says agency doesn’t plan to investigate House candidate’s eligibility

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The pop star revisits her best—and boldest—outfits over her career. Read more >> Annual AK Ski Swap set for Saturday Alaska ’s largest and oldest winter outdoor gear consignment sale will take place Saturday. Along with plenty of skis and boots, there will be snowboards, fat-tire bikes, hockey equipment and other winter outdoor gear. American Airlines posts $483 million profit for summer travel seasonThe Fort Worth-based carrier’s results repeated many of the same upbeat themes sounded in the last few days by competitors United Airline s and Delta Air Lines. They went from Best to bottom 5 WORST. Can't believe they made a profit. WATCH: Gubernatorial candidate Debate for the State 2022LIVE NOW: Debate for the State 2022 Candidates running for Alaska Governor debate statewide issues ahead of the Nov. 8 election. Alaska elections official says agency doesn’t plan to investigate House candidate’s eligibilitySocial media posts by candidate Jennie Armstrong appeared to indicate that she moved to Alaska in June 2019, potentially violating a three-year residency requirement, but she showed evidence that she moved to Alaska that May. (via Alaska Beacon) United Airlines CEO says hybrid work has caused ‘permanent structural change’ in leisure travel demandScott Kirby, the CEO of United Airline s, said during a Wednesday call that hybrid work has caused a 'permanent structural change' in leisure travel demand. American Airlines posts $483 million profit for late summerAmerican Airline s said Thursday that it earned $483 million on record-breaking revenue that more than offset higher fuel costs in the third quarter. Despite recession fears and a large increase in labor costs from major contract deals with its pilots, Alaska Air CEO Ben Minicucci on Thursday proclaimed the airline was back on a growth trajectory.15 hours ago Snowboards fill the bleachers at UAA's Alaska Airlines Center during the AK Ski Swap on Saturday, October 24, 2015.The main entrance to the Robert W.October 19, 2022 KTOO News Department Share: Alaska Public Media, in partnership with Alaska’s News Source and KTOO, presents Debate for the State 2022. From July through September, Alaska Airlines went a long way toward restoring its reputation for reliable service, which had been shredded in the spring when pilot and other staff shortages caused last-minute flight cancellations that ruined travel plans. In response, Alaska cut its summer flying schedule, reducing capacity by about 7%. (Loren Holmes / ADN archive 2015) The state’s largest and oldest winter outdoor gear consignment sale will take place Saturday. Even as other airlines continued to struggle with staff shortages, that pullback steadied Alaska’s operation. Gonzalez / Staff Photographer) By The Associated Press 10:23 AM on Oct 20, 2022 CDT The three biggest U. “This summer we returned to delivering a reliable operation with a completion rate over 99% each month of the quarter,” Minicucci told analysts on an earnings call Thursday.m. That means less than 1% of flights were canceled. Senate. Travel statistics on the U. Anyone interested in consigning gear for the swap should visit www. What pandemic? Fort Worth-based American Airlines said Thursday that it earned $483 million on record-breaking revenue that more than offset higher fuel costs in the third quarter.S. Department of Transportation website show Alaska had the top on-time performance among all U.com to register.S. United Airlines reported a $942 million profit on Tuesday, and Delta Air Lines posted third-quarter earnings of $695 million last week. airlines in June and July.m. House candidates will debate on Wednesday, October 26 at 7 p. Aviation data company Cirium shows it ranking No. 2 in August behind Delta and No.m.S. 3 in September behind Delta and United. Minicucci noted that Horizon Air, Alaska’s regional airline subsidiary, “also posted fantastic operating results with the No.m. 1 completion rate in the industry at 99. “Demand remains strong.m. 5%.m.” ADVERTISEMENT “I want to thank all of our employees for a great summer and everything that they do,” Minicucci said. Record revenue from high fares Chief Financial Officer Shane Tackett said the company gave every employee 90,000 frequent-flyer miles “in recognition of all of their extraordinary work during the pandemic and our 90th anniversary as an airline. Along with plenty of skis and boots, snowboards, fat-tire bikes, hockey equipment and other winter outdoor gear will be traded.S.” Tackett said with Alaska’s improved financial results, the company expects to pay out strong annual bonuses in January. CEO Minicucci said 65 newly trained pilots are coming out of Alaska’s training school each month and the goal is to increase that to 100 per month. “It’s a huge help to local families to keep sports like Alpine and Nordic skiing affordable. You can unsubscribe anytime. He said the exceptionally large pay increases awarded last month to the entry-level pilots at Horizon Air “provides us a strong foundation for our efforts in attracting, retaining and building a robust pilot pipeline.5 million travelers on a single day, the busiest day at the nation’s airports since February 2020.” The contract ratified this month with the Alaska Airlines mainline pilots adds further certainty to the pilot staffing.. “We are on track right now to deliver the pilots we need per month on both the regional and the mainline side,” Minicucci said. With air travel demand high and fewer seats available, passengers were stuck with soaring ticket prices across the industry this summer and airlines raked in money as a result. American, for example, did nearly 10% less flying in the third quarter than in the same period of 2019. Alaska’s $2. 8 billion in revenue for the quarter was the highest “ever recorded in our history,” Minicucci noted. For the three months through September, Alaska posted a net profit of $40 million or 31 cents per share. United recently announced it will expand European flying next summer. Adjusted to exclude one-time costs — including contract ratification bonuses after major labor deals with the pilots, as well as charges for retiring Airbus jets — the net profit was $325 million, or $2.53 per share, compared with an adjusted profit in the same quarter last year of $187 million or $1.47 per share. “We are going to make sure that we don’t outpace what we have, either in terms of aircraft deliveries if that’s the constraint, or if it’s pilots at a regional level or our ability to train pilots” at American, he said. However, the market reacted negatively to management’s outlook for the fourth quarter results. Alaska’s stock closed at $39.88, down $1.46 billion, slightly higher than the $13.97 or 4.7% for the day. American, Delta and United all reported record revenue and large profits in the third quarter. Also Thursday, the parent of Alaska Airlines reported a $40 million third-quarter profit on record revenue of $2. Each of those stocks also fell Thursday, but not as much as Alaska’s. Wall Street analysts lowered their estimates for Alaska’s fourth-quarter results as management projected higher labor costs following the contract agreements with their pilots. “Shares were down . Shares of American Airlines Group Inc.. . on a 4Q outlook that falls short of consensus,” analyst Dan McKenzie of Seaport Global Securities told investors in a research note. Read more airline stories. Staffing up ADVERTISEMENT Tackett said one lesson management learned from the pandemic is that its staffing was too lean. “Last year, we were trying to hire just in time to meet the new capacity, and then we’d get hit with a COVID wave and people would be sick and absent, and we could not operate,” he said. “Like others in the industry, we have totally done a 180 on that. We’re now carrying more people than we need.” Carrying the additional staff cost an extra $15 million during the last quarter, Tackett said. Meanwhile, Alaska Airlines is accelerating its effort to streamline its jet fleet and revert to being an all- Boeing carrier. The airline is rapidly retiring its Airbus aircraft, replacing them with larger Boeing 737 MAXs. And regional airline subsidiary Horizon Air is replacing its Bombardier Q400 turboprops with Embraer E175 jets. Alaska has 35 MAX jets today. By the end of next year, all the Airbus jets will be gone, and the airline expects to have 78 MAX jets, making up nearly one-third of its mainline fleet. Between now and the end of the year, and into the first quarter of next year, Alaska will maintain its lower flying capacity as it retires the Airbus jets and retrains pilots to operate the MAX planes. But the company expects to grow after that. The airline will be back to its 2019 size by the middle of next year, said Tackett, and will grow capacity beyond that, if demand holds. ADVERTISEMENT CEO Minicucci said the “long-term plan is still to grow until 2025.” Chief Commercial Officer Andrew Harrison told analysts that in the fourth quarter, even though Alaska will be flying 7% to 10% fewer seats than in 2019, it nevertheless expects revenue to increase by 12% to 15%, reflecting higher fares. Beyond that time frame, Harrison predicted smooth operations, confident that the COVID-induced volatility and disruption of the first half of this year is firmly in the past. “We’re going to set ourselves up next year to really operate this airline like a Swiss watch,” Harrison said. .