‘I’ve never seen such a dramatic swing and recovery’: Alaska Airlines CEO

Alaska Air Group expects to be profitable in Q3 of this year, as it benefits from what chief executive Ben Minicucci describes as a “dramatic recovery” in leisure travel. Minicucci says: “For the last three months we’ve seen a dramatic change, a dramatic recovery. We’ve pretty much seen leisure demand come back to 100% and in some cases well over 100% [of pre-pandemic levels].” Underpinning that improvement for the Seattle-based group – which largely serves domestic markets through Alaska Airlines and regional unit Horizon Air – is the USA’s relatively advanced Covid-19 vaccination programme. “Vaccinations have proven to be the catalyst… people are confident to come back,” he states. “It’s quite remarkable just how quickly it has come back. I was worried a little bit about volatility – [traffic] coming back and dipping again – but with infections staying low, deaths staying low and just the pace of vaccinations increasing, I think the travelling public after 12-15 months of being cooped up are saying, ’look, we want to get out’.” The carrier reported an adjusted loss before tax of $577m in the first quarter of 2021, but is expecting “to approach breakeven” in the second three months of the year, after what Minicucci describes as “a massive swing”.<br/>