Alaska Air Group Reports June Traffic

SEATTLE, July 2 /PRNewswire-FirstCall/ -- Alaska Air Group, Inc. (NYSE: ALK) today reported June operational results for its subsidiaries, Alaska Airlines (Alaska) and Horizon Air (Horizon).

ALASKA AIRLINES

Alaska reported an increase in load factor to 80.7 percent in June 2009, compared to 79.5 percent in June 2008, on a 4.1 percent decline in available seat miles (ASMs) compared to the prior-year period. Alaska also reported that 84.5 percent of its flights arrived on time in June 2009, a 6.7-point increase compared to the 77.8 percent reported in June 2008. The following tables show the operational results for June 2009 and for the first six months of 2009, compared to the prior-year periods:

                                     June                  Year-to-Date
                                     ----                  ------------
                              2009   2008  Change     2009     2008   Change
    Revenue passenger miles
        RPMs (000,000)       1,644  1,688   (2.6)%   8,792    9,398    (6.4)%
    Available seat miles
        ASMs (000,000)       2,036  2,124   (4.1)%  11,372   12,322    (7.7)%
    Passenger load factor     80.7%  79.5%  1.2pts    77.3%    76.3%   1.0pts
    Revenue passengers (000) 1,404  1,538   (8.7)%   7,556    8,505   (11.2)%
    On-time arrivals as
     reported
     to U.S. DOT              84.5%  77.8%  6.7pts    78.9%    77.9%   1.0pts

HORIZON AIR

Horizon reported an increase in load factor to 79.4 percent in June 2009, compared to 78.0 percent in June 2008, on a 10.8 percent decline in capacity compared to the prior-year period. Horizon reported that 88.6 percent of its flights arrived on time in June 2009, a 3.9-point increase compared to the 84.7 percent reported in June 2008. The following tables show the operational results for June 2009 and for the first six months of 2009, compared to the prior-year periods:

                                     June                Year-to-Date
                                     ----                ------------
                              2009   2008  Change     2009   2008   Change
    RPMs (000,000)             226    248   (9.2)%   1,133  1,353   (16.3)%
    ASMs (000,000)             284    319  (10.8)%   1,615  1,886   (14.4)%
    Passenger load factor    79.4%  78.0%   1.4pts   70.2%  71.7%  (1.5)pts
    Revenue passengers (000)   608    678  (10.3)%   3,240  3,765   (13.9)%
    On-time arrivals         88.6%  84.7%   3.9pts   85.0%  84.2%    0.8pts

Alaska Airlines and Horizon Air, subsidiaries of Alaska Air Group (NYSE: ALK), 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.