Alaska Airlines’ Q3 was not easy for multiple reasons

Back in July

, at the Q2 earnings call, Alaska Airlines Group, including Horizon Air, said that Q3 would not be easy: massive demand for international travel would hurt Alaska’s domestic network, and a period of high fares would end. It shows in the Q3 results presented on Thursday, but not entirely for the same reasons. The Q4 and full-year guidance has been lowered.

Alaska reported a net profit of $139 million, which at first sight looks favorable compared to $40 million in Q3 2022. A pre-tax margin of 11.4 percent “nearly led the industry, despite our lower direct exposure to record international demand as well as significant fuel costs headwinds, given our geographical exposure to the Westcoast,” said CEO Ben Minicucci. Q3 confirmed Alaska’s solid business model, producing a 99.7 percent completion rate and unit revenues up by twelve percent on capacity growth of six percent versus 2019.