I had the pleasure of hosting an investor call with the Alaska Airlines team recently. We assembled roughly three dozen investors for a very interactive Zoom webinar. Shane, Ryan, and Stephanie were excellent in responding to questions from participating asset managers.
Company Participants:
Shane Tackett: CFO
Ryan St. John: VP, Finance, Planning & Investor Relations
Stephanie Babij, CFA: Investor Relations Manager
We covered a lot of topics, including questions on fuel costs, free cash flow, and their plane cabin makeup (First Class/Premium/Main Cabin). A few things (refining related) contributed to higher-than-normal fuel costs for them recently, and the good news is that those costs have normalized. An investor asked about free cash flow – the team says it was impacted by the recent Virgin America acquisition and that’s behind them now, more good news. Regarding their plane cabins – it sounds like they’re doing an excellent job of increasing revenues (and margins) with a good mix of premium offerings. Customers have made it clear that they want the premium option.
Take a look at Alaska Airlines here: https://investor.alaskaair.com/
Plenty of other topics were covered, too, like the revenue they generate from their cargo business, which is “very sticky”, their growing fleet, and general industry trends. I thoroughly enjoyed the conversation and based on messages I received from investors afterwards, I wasn’t the only one!
THANK YOU to the entire Alaska Airlines team for your support!
I also want to thank our friends at Seaport Research Partners for joining us today, and for extending the invitation to their client base. We appreciate the partnership!
