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Alaska Air Company profile

What is the Alaska Air Group?

The Alaska Air Group (ALK) is an airline company with its head office based in SeaTac, Washington. The company owns and manages three American airlines: Virgin America, Horizon Air, and Alaska Airlines. The company holds a number of prestigious industry awards including Favorite North American Airline, Best US Airline, and is one of the Top 20 Safest Airlines.

What does the company do?

The Alaska Air Group operates in three main segments, including Mainline, Regional and Horizon. The Mainline focuses on the Alaska’s and Virgin America’s passenger and cargo transportation services across the USA, Canada, Cuba, Costa Rica and Mexico. The Regional segment maintains the company’s shorter distance transportation network, serving passengers within the United States. The Horizon segment includes the capacity sold to Alaska under the capacity purchased arrangements (CPAs). The company maintains two flyer plans: the Virgin America Elevate and the Alaska Airlines Mileage Plan, providing a pack of frequent flyer benefits and additional points for travellers.

The Mainline segment operates the Airbus (A319 and A320) and Boeing 737 (B737) aircraft offered by Virgin America and Alaska Airlines. The company’s fleet consists of 69 Airbus A320 and 155 Boeing 737 planes.
The Regional segment manages flights, performed by Horizon, Peninsula Airways (PenAir) and SkyWest Airlines (SkyWest). Horizon’s fleet includes 47 Bombardier Q400 turboprop aircraft, SkyWest operates 36 Embraer 175 aircraft.

A bit of Alaska Air’s history

Incorporated on March 15, 1985, the Alaska Air Group traces its roots back to 1932, when two companies started their businesses: Star Air Service and McGee Airways. After several mergers and changes of brand names, in 1944 the Alaska Airlines, the brand that is used today, was born. In 1987 the company joined forces with the two air carriers, providing outstanding customer services: Jet America and Horizon Air. By the end of 1980s, Alaska tripled its size. In 2016 Alaska Airlines bought Virgin America and created the West Coast’s premier airline.

Who founded Alaska Air Group?

Star Air Services was founded in 1932 when Wesley “Earl” Dunkle, a mine owner, loaned funds to three pilots: Jack Waterworth, Charlie Ruttan and Steve Mills. They started their business with only one single plane. In 1935 the company acquired McGee Airways from Mac McGee, who further returned to manage Star Air Service.

McGee Airways was formed by Linious “Mac” McGee in 1932. After years of aviation pioneering, the company became one of the leading US airlines of its time. Mac McGee worked as a dishwasher, truck driver, miner and fur buyer until he launched his own airline that revolutionised Alaska’s transportation industry.

Current size, team and locations

The Alaska Air Group performs 68,000 flights to 115+ destinations, including Mexico, Costa Rica and Hawaii, and transports 5 million customers during the summer season alone. The company has a team of over 10,000 employees and earns a revenue of almost $8,000 billion per year.

Quick facts about Alaska Air

Employees: 10,266
Destinations: 115+
Combined fleet: 298 aircraft
Daily flights: 900
Cups of coffee served per day: 37,000

How to learn the Alaska Air’s share price?

Alaska Air’s shares are listed and traded on the New York Stock Exchange (NYSE) under the ticker symbol ALK. The company is a component of the S&P 500 and the DJTA market indices. Join Capital.com to trade CFDs on the Alaska Air Group share price fluctuations and follow the ALK chart in real-time.