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Alaska Airlines expands its Finnair codeshare

Alaska Airlines has announced today a significant codeshare expansion with European oneworld partner Finnair, the latest in a series of partnership expansions for Alaska since joining the global alliance in March 2021.

Beginning now, Finnair passengers can book connecting flights through Seattle – our hometown airport – to more than 60 destinations throughout Alaska’s network for travel beginning June 1, 2022. The codeshare flights with Alaska will be identified on Finnair’s website and the carrier’s other booking platforms. Finnair’s new nonstop service between Helsinki and Seattle/Tacoma begins June 1 with flights three times a week (Monday, Wednesday and Friday) on the airline’s Airbus A330 aircraft.

Since becoming a oneworld member on March 31, 2021, Alaska has added more than 250 codeshare routes. We’ve implemented new partnerships with member airlines Qatar Airways and Iberia Airlines, and expanded cooperation with existing oneworld partners American Airlines, British Airways, Cathay Pacific, Finnair, Japan Airlines and Qantas Airways. By this summer, Alaska and these eight oneworld airlines will offer more than 78 daily international flights from Seattle, Portland, San Francisco and Los Angeles, enabling seamless connectivity to Alaska’s comprehensive network up and down the West Coast.

Top Copyright Photo: Alaska Airlines Boeing 737-990 ER SSWL N238AK (msn 62681) (Merrier Together – Starbucks) LAX (Michael B. Ing). Image: 956489.

Alaska Airlines aircraft slide show (Boeing):

Alaska Airlines aircraft photo gallery:

Alaska cancels 170 flights today, with more expected throughout the week

Alaska Airlines issued this statement:

Winter weather, displaced crew members and aircraft, and the continued impact of the omicron variant on staffing levels are converging to cause more canceled and delayed flights for Alaska Airlines this week.

Today, 170 flights were canceled across Alaska’s network, with more cancellations and delays expected throughout the week. As we head into Wednesday and Thursday, we’re proactively thinning Seattle departures by about 20% to allow for the additional time it takes to deice aircraft, a requirement during winter weather.

The weather in Seattle is impacting guests beyond the Pacific Northwest. We strongly urge flyers with non-essential travel scheduled before January 2, 2022, to consider changing their travel to a later date using our flexible travel policy. With more snow expected and limited seats available during an already busy holiday week, we’re not able to re-accommodate most guests for at least three days.

“We deeply apologize for the inconvenience this winter storm has on our guests and employees and are working hard to return to the level of service you know and expect from us, while operating safely,” said Constance von Muehlen, Alaska Airlines chief operating officer and executive vice president.

If guests cannot reschedule their flights at this time, rest assured we will hold the value of their ticket until they are ready to travel again.

Tips for guests traveling this week:

Before heading to the airport, check your email or alaskaair.com to see if your flight is impacted.
If your flight has been canceled, do not go to the airport to change your itinerary.
Managing your reservation online is the best option. Our Contact Center is experiencing hold times of more than 20 hours. To reduce long hold times, guests without immediate needs are asked to wait to contact us about their itineraries until next week.
Guests impacted by cancellations and delays may be eligible for reimbursement of reasonable travel expenses by providing flight information and expense details here.
If your flight is canceled while you’re at the airport and you’ve checked a bag, please immediately claim it at the baggage carousel before leaving the airport.

Our baggage service teams are working around the clock to reunite unclaimed bags with their owners. It will take several days to complete this work, but our agents will contact every guest to arrange pick-up or delivery.

We greatly appreciate the patience of our guests and tireless efforts from our employees during this busy travel period.

Weather Map (USA) for today:

Above Copyright Photo: Alaska Airlines Boeing 737-990 ER SSWL N487AS (msn 44108) (Oneworld) BUR (Michael B. Ing). Image: 955615.

Alaska Airlines aircraft slide show (Boeing):

Alaska Airlines aircraft photo gallery:

Alaska Airlines and Horizon Air employees receive nearly 3.5 weeks extra pay in bonuses

Alaska Airlines has made this announcement:

Employees of Alaska Air Group companies Alaska Airlines and Horizon Air are receiving $120 million in incentive bonuses today. For most employees, this equates to more than 6.5 percent of their annual pay in 2018.

“After a year of hard work, we’re incredibly grateful for our 22,000 fantastic employees who go the extra mile to put safety first and deliver the kind-hearted service we’re known for,” said Ben Minicucci, Alaska Airlines’ president and COO. “For the 10^th year in a row, our employees have earned bonuses by exceeding targets for meeting our annual and monthly goals. On behalf of the entire leadership team, thank you for another incredible year.”

The PBP bonus is in addition to the approximately $15.7 million in monthly operational bonuses that employees earned over 2018 for achieving monthly on-time and customer satisfaction goals. The combined monthly, annual and one-time bonuses paid to employees total $136 million.

Geographic breakdown:

About $66 million in annual bonuses — nearly 55 percent of the total — is being paid to Alaska Airlines and Horizon Air employees across Washington
$28 million — or 24 percent of the total — is going to employees throughout California
$12 million is being paid to employees in Oregon
$8 million is going to employees throughout the state of Alaska

The employee bonuses come two weeks after the airline announced its 2019 jobs forecast and Washington economic impact study, highlighting the $7 billion Alaska has contributed to the state economy.

Top Copyright Photo (all others by Alaska): Alaska Airlines Boeing 737-990 ER SSWL N268AK (msn 36365) JFK (Fred Freketic). Image: 945414.

Alaska Airlines aircraft slide show (Boeing):

Video:

Alaska Air Group reports first quarter 2018 results

Alaska Airlines Group has made this announcement:

Financial Highlights:

Reported net income for the first quarter under Generally Accepted Accounting Principles (GAAP) of $4 million, or $0.03 per diluted share, compared to net income of $93 million, or $0.75 per diluted share in the first quarter of 2017. As the company has recently implemented new accounting standards, including the standards relating to revenue recognition and retirement benefits, 2017 financial information has been adjusted.
Reported first quarter 2018 adjusted diluted earnings per share of $0.14 compared to $0.99reported in the first quarter of 2017. First quarter adjusted net income excluding special items such as merger-related costs, an employee bonus awarded in connection with the Tax Cuts and Jobs Act, and mark-to-market fuel hedge accounting adjustments was $18 million, compared to $124 million in the first quarter of 2017. This quarter’s adjusted results compare to the First Call analyst consensus estimate of $0.12 per share.
Paid a $0.32 per-share quarterly cash dividend in the first quarter, a 7% increase over the dividend paid in the first quarter of 2017.
Repurchased a total of 185,661 shares of common stock for approximately $12 million in the first three months of 2018.
Generated approximately $310 million of operating cash flow and used approximately $235 millionfor capital expenditures, resulting in approximately $75 million of free cash flow for the first three months of 2018.
Held $1.5 billion in unrestricted cash and marketable securities as of March 31, 2018.

Operational Highlights:

Obtained a single operating certificate (SOC) from the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) for Alaska Airlines and Virgin America, our most significant integration milestone to date. The SOC recognizes Alaska and Virgin America as one airline.
Reached an agreement in early April 2018 with mainline flight attendants that includes a merger transition plan and a two-year extension from December 2019 to December 2021. The agreement provides pay increases and paves the way to fully align nearly 5,700 mainline flight attendants under a single agreement.
Expanded our codeshare partnerships with Japan Airlines, Fiji Airways, Cathay Pacific and Finnair.
Began installation of next-generation Gogo satellite-based Wi-Fi in the first quarter of 2018, which will provide guests a faster internet connection across the Boeing and Airbus fleets.
Added one Boeing 737-900ER aircraft and two Airbus A321neo aircraft to the mainline operating fleet in the first quarter of 2018. Added one Embraer 175 (E175) regional jet to Horizon Air’s fleet in the first quarter of 2018 and added two E175 aircraft operated by SkyWest Airlines.

Alaska Air Group, Inc., on April 23, 2018 reported first quarter 2018 GAAP net income of $4 million, or $0.03 per diluted share, compared to $93 million, or $0.75 per diluted share in the first quarter of 2017. Excluding the impact of certain noted items, the company reported adjusted net income of $18 million, or $0.14 per diluted share, compared to $124 million, or $0.99 per diluted share, in 2017.

Copyright Photo: Alaska Airlines Boeing 737-990 ER SSWL N265AK (msn 62682) (Honoring Those Who Serve) LAX (Michael B. Ing). Image: 941100.

Alaska Airlines aircraft slide show (current livery):

Alaska Airlines, Virgin America and Horizon Air employees receive $148 million in bonuses

https://airlinersgallery.smugmug.com/Airlines-UnitedStates-1/Alaska-Airlines-2/i-xPqRw9R/A

Alaska Air Group issued this statement on January 26, 2018:

Employees of Alaska Air Group companies Alaska Airlines, Virgin America and Horizon Air are receiving $118 million in incentive bonuses today. For most employees, this equates to an average of more than 7 percent of their annual pay in 2017. In addition, 23,000 Air Group employees will receive a one-time $1,000 bonus on Jan. 29 from additional tax savings the company expects to receive this year.

The company’s annual bonus, called Performance Based Pay (PBP), is determined by meeting or exceeding specific company-wide goals for safety, customer satisfaction, cost control, customer loyalty and profit. For the ninth year in a row, employees will enjoy a payout of about an additional month’s pay.

The PBP bonus is in addition to the approximately $7 million in monthly operational bonuses that employees earned over 2017 for achieving monthly on-time and customer satisfaction goals. The combined monthly, annual and one-time bonuses paid to employees total $148 million.

Geographic breakdown:

About $62 million in annual bonuses — more than 52 percent of the total — is being paid to Alaska, Virgin America, and Horizon Air employees in the Puget Sound area
$27 million — or 23 percent of the total — is going to employees throughout California
$12 million is being paid to employees in the Oregon
$8.1 million is going to employees throughout the state of Alaska

The bonuses come 13 months after the acquisition of Virgin America. Since then, Alaska Airlines and Virgin America employees have been hard at work creating an airline people love. Some of the most significant integration milestones employees have accomplished since December 2016 include:

Obtaining a single operating certificate from the FAA on Jan. 11, combining thousands of procedures, manuals and training for all Airbus and Boeing operations
Launching a wear-test for new employee uniforms
Transitioning to one loyalty and credit card program
Co-locating Alaska and Virgin American operations in 22 of 31 airports
Building Alaska’s expansive network with 44 new routes, in addition to the 38 routes added with the acquisition of Virgin America
Moving to the same human resources, finance and payroll systems

By late April, Minicucci expects the airlines will have accomplished 75 percent of the integration milestones with the shift to a single reservation system, website, check-in kiosk, app and call center.

Copyright Photo (all others by Alaska Airlines): Alaska Airlines (Alaska + Virgin America) Boeing 737-990 ER SSWL N493AS (msn 41727) (More to Love) LAX (Michael B. Ing). Image: 936924.

Alaska Airlines aircraft slide show: