Saturday, July 20, 2024
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Alaska Airlines announced Wednesday that it will offer more first-class and premium seats on 218 of its aircraft starting in September. The expansion is expected to bring an additional 1.3 million premium seats annually to Alaska’s flagship airline fleet.
In early 2024, Alaska Airlines is upgrading its regional fleet by adding a row of premium seats to every Embraer 175. Driven by growing customer demand, the upgrades are aimed at increasing the premium seat ratio by 3 percentage points to 28 percent, Alaska Airlines President and CEO Ben Minicucci announced during an earnings call on Thursday.
Alaska Q2 Measurements
Alaska Airlines reported passenger revenue of about $2.7 billion in the second quarter, up 2% from a year earlier. Total revenue was about $2.9 billion, also up 2% from the second quarter of 2023. However, net income fell to $220 million, down from $240 million a year earlier. The quarter saw a 6% year-over-year increase in capacity, with an average fuel price of $2.84 per gallon.
Looking ahead to the third quarter, Alaska Airlines expects capacity growth of 2 to 3 percent year-over-year and anticipates fuel costs to be between $2.85 and $2.95 per gallon. For the full year of 2024, the airline expects capacity to increase 2.5 percent compared to 2023. Alaska Airlines plans to complete these additions by mid-2026.
