Alaska Air Group: Traffic and capacity up in February 2018

Alaska Air Group Inc. today reported February operational results on a consolidated basis, for its mainline operations operated by subsidiaries Alaska Airlines Inc. (Alaska) and Virgin America Inc. (Virgin America), and for its regional flying operated by subsidiary Horizon Air Industries Inc. (Horizon) and third-party regional carriers SkyWest Airlines and Peninsula Airlines.

On Jan. 11, 2018, Alaska and Virgin America consolidated their operations onto a Single Operating Certificate (SOC). Results for Alaska and Virgin America have been combined into a single mainline operation.

AIR GROUP

On a combined basis for all operations, Air Group reported a 7.9 percent increase in traffic on a 9 percent increase in capacity compared to February 2017. Load factor decreased 0.8 points to 79.4 percent.

The following table shows the operational results for February and year-to-date, compared to the prior-year periods:

February Year-to-Date
2018 2017 Change 2018 2017 Change
Revenue passengers (000) 3,229 3,029 6.6% 6,571 6,270 4.8%
Revenue passenger miles RPM (000,000) “traffic” 3,778 3,503 7.9% 7,750 7,339 5.6%
Available seat miles ASM (000,000) “capacity” 4,758 4,366 9.0% 9,994 9,277 7.7%
Passenger load factor 79.4% 80.2% (0.8) pts 77.5% 79.1% (1.6) pts

MAINLINE

Mainline reported a 7.1 percent increase in traffic on an 8.1 percent increase in capacity compared to February 2017. Load factor decreased 0.7 points to 79.7 percent. Mainline also reported 84.3 percent of its flights arrived on time in February 2018, compared to 73.9 percent reported in February 2017.

Mainline operational results reflect both Alaska and Virgin America combined. The following table shows mainline operational results for February and year-to-date, compared to the prior-year periods:

February Year-to-Date
2018 2017 Change 2018 2017 Change
Revenue passengers (000) 2,531 2,345 7.9% 5,126 4,867 5.3%
RPMs (000,000) 3,462 3,232 7.1% 7,105 6,789 4.7%
ASMs (000,000) 4,345 4,020 8.1% 9,113 8,555 6.5%
Passenger load factor 79.7% 80.4% (0.7) pts 78.0% 79.4% (1.4) pts
On-time arrivals as reported to U.S. DOT 84.3% 73.9% 10.4 pts 85.7% 73.8% 11.9 pts

REGIONAL

Regional traffic increased 16.6 percent on a 19.4 percent increase in capacity compared to February 2017. Load factor decreased 1.8 points to 76.5 percent. Alaska’s regional partners also reported 85.3 percent of its flights arrived on time in February 2018, compared to 69.6 percent in February 2017.

The following table shows regional operational results for February and year-to-date, compared to the prior-year periods:

February Year-to-Date
2018 2017 Change 2018 2017 Change
Revenue passengers (000) 698 684 2.0% 1,445 1,403 3.0%
RPMs (000,000) 316 271 16.6% 645 550 17.3%
ASMs (000,000) 413 346 19.4% 881 722 22.0%
Passenger load factor 76.5% 78.3% (1.8) pts 73.2% 76.2% (3.0) pts
On-time arrivals as reported to U.S. DOT 85.3% 69.6% 15.7 pts 85.8% 66.9% 18.9 pts

Alaska Airlines, together with Virgin America and its regional partners, flies 44 million guests a year to more than 115 destinations with an average of 1,200 daily flights across the United States and to Mexico, Canada and Costa Rica.