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Alaska Air soars in Q3

Even cargo revenue is up, while peers go in opposite direction

Converted Boeing 737-700 freighter. [Photo credit: Alaska Air]

Correction: The story has been updated with correct figures for cargo revenue. The original story said cargo revenue increased 9% to $60 million, but that line item covers cargo and other revenue, such as from ancillary fees and terminal lounges.

Alaska Air Group [NYSE: ALK] has caught an updraft after initial turbulence digesting its 2016 acquisition of Virgin America, reporting third-quarter adjusted pre-tax profit margin of 18% – 3 percentage points higher than the same period a year ago.

The strong performance was driven by 8% growth in operating revenue to almost $2.4 billion, outpacing a 3% rise in expenses.

Alaska Air, which includes its mainline subsidiary and regional carrier Horizon Air, so far is the only domestic passenger airline to have growth in cargo revenue this year in a down year for airfreight overall. For the third quarter, cargo revenue increased 3% to $37 million. Alaska’s cargo business, however, is less than a fifth that of bigger competitors United Airlines, Delta Air Lines and American Airlines.


Group net income was $326 million, up 37.5%, excluding modest merger-related charges and fuel hedging expenses, with earnings per share of $2.63 beating consensus estimates of $2.52.

The Seattle-based airline generated $1.4 billion in operating cash flow for the nine-month period.

Mainline revenue per available seat mile grew 4.5% to 12.83 cents, and load factors crept up to 86.2%.


Eric Kulisch

Eric is the Supply Chain and Air Cargo Editor at FreightWaves. An award-winning business journalist with extensive experience covering the logistics sector, Eric spent nearly two years as the Washington, D.C., correspondent for Automotive News, where he focused on regulatory and policy issues surrounding autonomous vehicles, mobility, fuel economy and safety. He has won two regional Gold Medals and a Silver Medal from the American Society of Business Publication Editors for government and trade coverage, and news analysis. He was voted best for feature writing and commentary in the Trade/Newsletter category by the D.C. Chapter of the Society of Professional Journalists. He won Environmental Journalist of the Year from the Seahorse Freight Association in 2014 and was the group's 2013 Supply Chain Journalist of the Year. In December 2022, Eric was voted runner up for Air Cargo Journalist by the Seahorse Freight Association. As associate editor at American Shipper Magazine for more than a decade, he wrote about trade, freight transportation and supply chains. He has appeared on Marketplace, ABC News and National Public Radio to talk about logistics issues in the news. Eric is based in Vancouver, Washington. He can be reached for comments and tips at ekulisch@freightwaves.com