Just after it was announced last week that American would be cutting its San Jose-Austin nonstop, Alaska announced yesterday that it would be filling the void with service starting September 2. Even with Alaska’s new service, though, the route is still seeing a cut in capacity. While it looks like American is currently flying two MD-80s, Alaska’s flight will only be one daily 737-800. One reason I found this interesting is that Alaska announced Austin-Seattle service in February. This route was also one that American dropped.
Brett Snyder makes a very good point in his post about this new route:
Alaska certainly has a smaller customer base in Austin than American does, but remember, you can earn American miles on Alaska flights, and those miles are elite qualifying miles as well. So the loyalists should support this flight.
Meanwhile, the carrier filed an 8-K with the SEC this morning, and I found a few highlights.
First, for the second quarter to date, Alaska is reporting 7.4% decrease in PRASM for May, and a 4.7% decrease for the second quarter to date. Compared to what other airlines have been reporting, that’s not too shabby, I think.
Second, Alaska is estimating to earn $30 million in revenue this year from the first bag fee, and after that it hopes to make $70 million annually from the fee.
Third, and finally, advanced load factors look good. June and July are actually positive – up one and two percent respectively, while August is down 3%. The filing reports that “June and July advanced bookings have significantly improved as the date of travel approaches.” These statisitics don’t provide many clues when it comes to revenue. While fuller planes is a good thing, it depends on who is filling the seats. For example, are the higher load factors coming from passengers looking for last minute deals? Still, it’s something positive.
Gonna miss the AA Nerd Bird