Alaska Air Group May Traffic Increases 9.1%

Alaska Air Group, Inc. ALK today reported May operational results for its subsidiaries, Alaska Airlines and Horizon Air. Alaska reported an 11.7 percent increase in traffic on a 7.4 percent increase in capacity compared to May 2010. This resulted in a 3.3-point increase in load factor to a May record of 84.7 percent. Alaska also reported that 90.7 percent of its flights arrived on time in May 2011, compared to the 91.5 percent reported in May 2010. Horizon reported a 12.5 percent decline in traffic on a 17.2 percent decline in capacity compared to May 2010. This resulted in a 4.1-point increase in load factor to a May record of 77.2 percent. Horizon also reported that 87.3 percent of its flights arrived on time in May 2011, compared to the 92.1 percent reported in May 2010. On a combined basis, Air Group capacity increased by 4.4 percent to 2,410 million ASMs, while traffic increased 9.1 percent to 2,025 million RPMs, resulting in a 3.6-point increase in combined load factor. These statistics exclude flights operated by third parties for Alaska under capacity purchase arrangements.