Alaska
American airline that dominates Seattle and the West Coast, and bought Hawaiian to become the country’s fifth largest.
11 figures on Alaska, drawn from 2 Modern MBA case studies.
The figures
US dollars4
| Against its own chart | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Gross revenue in billions of dollars, 2023 | $10B | 5th of 8 · top $58B | Why budget airlines stopped winning |
| Annual revenue from credit cards and mileage sales | $0.9B | 6th of 8 · top $8.2B | Why Asian airlines are so much better |
| Operating income of every major US airline in 2025, with and without loyalty revenue · With loyalty revenue | $0.3B | 5th of 7 · top $5.8B | Why Asian airlines are so much better |
| Operating income of every major US airline in 2025, with and without loyalty revenue · Without it | −$0.6B | 3rd of 7 · top $1.5B | Why Asian airlines are so much better |
Percentages5
| Against its own chart | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Load factor, 2023 | 83.7% | 3rd of 8 · top 85.0% | Why budget airlines stopped winning |
| Average share of revenue spent on fuel and on labor, 2010 to 2023 · Labor | 31% | 3rd of 8 · top 40% | Why budget airlines stopped winning |
| Average share of revenue spent on fuel and on labor, 2010 to 2023 · Fuel | 26% | 5th of 8 · top 31% | Why budget airlines stopped winning |
| US-based airlines by share of the domestic market, 2023 | 6% | 5th of 8 · top 18% | Why budget airlines stopped winning |
| Annual operating margin by carrier | 4% | 4th of 7 · top 10% | Why budget airlines stopped winning |
Counts2
| Against its own chart | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Number of aircraft in fleet, 2023 | 315 | 5th of 8 · top 1,273 | Why budget airlines stopped winning |
| Average price-to-earnings ratio, 2009 to 2019 | 11 | 5th of 7 · top 15 | Why budget airlines stopped winning |
Case studies covering Alaska
Case study — TravelWhy Asian airlines are so much betterAsian carriers deliver a service Americans barely recognize. American airlines earn more doing far less.11 min read
Case study — TravelWhy budget airlines stopped winningThe low-cost carriers say the industry is rigged. It isn't. The legacy carriers just copied the only thing they had.16 min read