Alaska Airlines passenger revenue grew 6 percent year over year to $2.1 billion in the second quarter as the carrier reported that corporate pricing is recovering.
On the carrier's earnings call, chief commercial officer and EVP Andrew Harrison said close-in fares and business fares had been "very low" during the first quarter, and while they were still down year over year in the second quarter, the environment now is "one of stability." Flights to Hawaii and Alaska, which represent about 22 percent of Alaska Airlines' network and have both seen increased capacity, have been a challenge, but yields have been improving on transcontinental markets from California, where Alaska had been "significantly impacted by pricing actions in the first quarter," Harrison said.
Demand during the quarter "continued to be robust," Harrison said, as traffic increased 1.1 percent amid a 0.9 percent increase in capacity. Alaska's load factor edged up 0.2 percentage points to 86 percent, and yield rose 4.6 percent.
Alaska reported a net income of $262 million for the quarter, up from $193 million in the second quarter of 2018.
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