Alaska Air Group Reports October Traffic

SEATTLE, Nov. 3 /PRNewswire-FirstCall/ -- Alaska Air Group, Inc. (NYSE: ALK) today reported October operational results for its subsidiaries, Alaska Airlines (Alaska) and Horizon Air (Horizon).

ALASKA AIRLINES

Alaska reported an increase in load factor to 77.0 percent in October 2009, compared to 73.6 percent in October 2008, on a 1.6 percent decline in available seat miles (ASMs) compared to the prior-year period. Alaska also reported that 85.8 percent of its flights arrived on time in October 2009, a 1.4-point increase compared to the 84.4 percent reported in October 2008. The following tables show the operational results for October 2009 and for the first ten months of 2009, compared to the prior-year periods:

                               October                  Year-to-Date
                               -------                  ------------
                         2009   2008   Change      2009      2008   Change
                         ----   ----   ------      ----      ----   ------
    Revenue passenger
     Miles RPMs
     (000,000)          1,459  1,417    3.0%     15,271    15,827   (3.5)%
    Available seat
     Miles ASMs
     (000,000)          1,894  1,924   (1.6)%    19,363    20,553   (5.8)%
    Passenger load
     factor              77.0%  73.6%   3.4pts     78.9%     77.0%   1.9pts
    Revenue passengers
     (000)              1,230  1,270   (3.2)%    13,026    14,308   (9.0)%
    On-time arrivals
     as reported to
     U.S. DOT            85.8%  84.4%   1.4pts     82.3%     79.8%   2.5pts

HORIZON AIR

Horizon reported an increase in load factor to 73.4 percent in October 2009, compared to 71.1 percent in October 2008. Horizon reported that 87.1 percent of its flights arrived on time in October 2009, a 2.3-point decrease compared to the 89.4 percent reported in October 2008. The following tables show the operational results for October 2009 and for the first ten months of 2009, compared to the prior-year periods:

                               October                  Year-to-Date
                               -------                  ------------
                         2009   2008   Change      2009      2008   Change
                         ----   ----   ------      ----      ----   ------
    RPMs (000,000)       203    197      3.2%    2,003     2,271   (11.8)%
    ASMs (000,000)       277    277      0.0%    2,747     3,109   (11.6)%
    Passenger load
     factor             73.4%  71.1%     2.3pts   72.9%     73.1%   (0.2)pts
    Revenue passengers
     (000)               570    579     (1.5)%   5,625     6,333   (11.2)%
    On-time arrivals    87.1%  89.4%    (2.3)pts  86.5%     85.5%    1.0pts
    ----------------    ----   ----   --------    ----      ----    ------

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.