Alaska Air Group boosted its third quarter earnings per share (EPS) guidance in an investor update on September 12, 2024. It estimates an EPS of around $2.15 to $2.25 for the third quarter, improving over previous estimates of $1.40 to $1.60.
The airline said it had experienced strong demand over the summer as it flew its "record schedule" over the period. Capacity remained in line with expectations at a positive 2% to 3%, but revenue per available seat mile (RASM) is set to be up around 2%, previously expecting flat to positive.
"Revenue has performed better than anticipated driven by additional revenue in July related to CrowdStrike disruptions across the industry and stronger performance in August and September," it said in the update.
Fuel costs were also revised down to $2.60-2.70 per gallon, down from previous estimates of $2.85-2.95.