Alaska Air CEO Says Company Was Profitable In June With Double Digit Pre-Tax Margin

July 22 (Reuters) -

• Alaska Air Group CEO: returned to profitability in June with double digit pre-tax margin despite fuel prices up nearly 70% y/y - conf call
• Alaska Air exec: had material acceleration of unit revenues across April, May, June - conf call
• Alaska Air exec: premium revenue now represents 35% of total revenue
• Alaska Air exec: more than half of every revenue dollar generated now comes from outside the main cabin
• Alaska Air exec: demand has proven durable even as fares moved higher
• Alaska Air exec: we’re especially encouraged by the strength of higher yielding demand
• Alaska Air exec: forward corporate bookings are up 37%, seven points higher than the 30% achieved in Q2
• Alaska Air exec: bookings into summer peak, early fall shoulder pacing well with unit revenue growth running in mid teens y/y
• Alaska Air exec: as fuel normalizes, the timing of which is tough to predict, we see clear path to our $10 annual EPS target
• Alaska Air exec: earnings to become more durable across cycles as premium loyalty, cargo and ancillary revenue mix rise over time
• Alaska Air exec: we do think that the Boeing MAX10 will get certified relatively soon