Alaska Air Group grows cargo capacity in Q2

Alaska Air Group, the only scheduled passenger airline in the United States to operate its own freighters, reported $139 million in “cargo and other revenue” for the second quarter. A year-over-year comparison is not instructive as Alaska Air Group, also the parent company of Hawaiian Airlines following its $1.9 billion acquisition in September 2024, did not include Hawaiian as a subsidiary in its Q2 2024 results. However, Alaska Air Group’s cargo revenue was $72 million in Q2 2024 and Hawaiian Airlines’ former parent company Hawaiian Holdings’ “other” revenue, which included cargo, was $66 million. [caption id="attachment_56866288" align="aligncenter" width="1136"] (Photo/Alaska Airlines)[/caption] The group launched a passenger route from Seattle (SEA) to Tokyo Narita (NRT) in May that “has rapidly expanded our international cargo capabilities from Asia's third-largest market,” Chief Commercial Officer Andrew Harrison said on today’s earnings call. “We've already surpassed our initial cargo volume targets on this route and have effectively backfilled much of the volume we anticipated might shift from Honolulu (HNL) with the new high-value revenue streams.” Alaska Air Group is “bullish” on its cargo opportunities as it continues to combine Alaska and Hawaiian’s networks , Executive Vice President of Cargo Jason Berry said on today’s call. Hawaiian signed a deal in 2022 to operate ten converted A330 freighters for Amazon on a CMI basis. Hawaiian is now flying all ten A330-300P2Fs (1902, 1863, 1865, 1874, 1081, 1071, 1226, 1245, 1167 and 1205) for the e-tailer, putting units 1167 and 1205 into service in Q2. Alaska Airlines’ freighters include two 737-800BCFs (35681 and 35682) and three 737-700BDSFs (30792, 30793 and 30794). Alaska’s freighter fleet is “giving us an outsized year-over-year performance and we're gaining market share,” Berry said. “And then, on the Amazon piece, we finally got up to ten aircraft. ... We're beginning to see that business start to finally spread its wings.” The carrier group reported $3.7 billion in total operating revenue in Q2. During the corresponding period last year, Alaska Air Group reported $2.9 billion in operating revenue and Hawaiian Holdings reported $731.9 million. Alaska Air Group reported net income of $172 million. It also reported in Q2: Operating income of $277 million; Income before taxes of $238 million; and Diluted earnings per share of $1.42, down 17% YoY. Alaska Air Group repurchased 8.7 million shares of common stock for about $428 million in Q2, bringing total repurchases to 10.5 million shares for about $535 million for the first six months of 2025. Shares of Alaska Air Group ( NYSE: ALK ) were down 5.61 % from market open to $50.86 as of market close today. The company has a market capitalization of $6.2 billion. AA Cargo revenue up 8% in Q2 American Airlines reported $211 million in Q2 cargo revenue, an increase of 8.2% YoY. The carrier today reported record overall operating revenue of $14.4 billion, up 0.4% YoY. American saw revenue growth despite “very difficult operating conditions this summer,” Chief Executive and President Robert Isom said on today’s earnings call. “There was significant storm activity at our hubs in Dallas-Fort Worth (DFW), Chicago (ORD), Washington, D.C. (DCA), and in the Northeast, a 36% increase in disruptive operational events over the same period last year,” Isom said. [caption id="attachment_57146353" align="aligncenter" width="1920"] (Courtesy/American Airlines)[/caption] American Airlines reported net income of $599 million, down 16.4% YoY. The carrier also reported in Q2: Operating income of $1.1 billion, down 18% YoY; Income before taxes of $838 million, down 18.5% YoY; Diluted earnings per common share of 91 cents, down 9.9% YoY; 521 million cargo ton miles, up 1.2% YoY; and Cargo yield per ton mile of 40 cents, up 6.9% YoY. American spent $2.7 billion on aircraft fuel and related taxes, down 13% YoY, and consumed 1.2 billion gallons of jet fuel, up 2.7% YoY. On average, American paid $2.29 per gallon, down 15.3% YoY. AA Cargo, the cargo arm of the carrier, does not operate freighters, relying on bellyspace on passenger flights. American Airlines expects to take delivery of fifty new passenger aircraft this year, Chief Financial Officer Devon May said on today’s call. Shares of American Airlines ( NASDAQ: AAL ) were down 9.62 % from market open to $11.46 as of market close today. The company has a market capitalization of $7.5 billion. Southwest Cargo revenue down 2% Southwest Airlines reported $44 million in cargo revenue in Q2, down 2.2% YoY, and overall Q2 revenue was down 1.5% YoY to $7.2 billion, the carrier announced today. The carrier, which does not operate freighters, received seventeen 737-8s in Q2 and retired seven 737-700s, ending the quarter with 810 aircraft. Southwest received eleven 737-8s in Q1 and retired fourteen aircraft — twelve 737-700s and two 737-800s — in Q1. [caption id="attachment_14790" align="aligncenter" width="2560"] (Courtesy/Southwest)[/caption] The carrier anticipates receiving forty-seven 737-8s and retiring about fifty-five aircraft this year, according to today’s earnings release. Following Q1, Southwest anticipated receiving thirty-eight aircraft from Boeing, but has bumped its expectations up after seeing Boeing show good stability in ramping up production since then, Southwest executives said on today's earnings call. The carrier reported net income of $213 million, down 42% YoY. Southwest also reported in Q2: Operating income of $225 million, down 43.5% YoY; Income before taxes of $280 million, down 41.4% YoY; and Diluted earnings per share of 39 cents, down 32.8% YoY. Southwest spent $2.32 per gallon of jet fuel in Q2, down 15.9% YoY, and consumed 570 million gallons of jet fuel, down 1.2% YoY. Shares of Southwest Airlines ( NYSE: LUV ) were down 11.16 % from market open to $ 33.26 as of market close today. Southwest has a market capitalization of $18.5 billion. Cargo Facts Symposium, the quintessential event for stakeholders and key leaders in the global freighter and air cargo industries, will take place Oct. 22-24 at the Grand Hyatt in Nashville . Learn more and register today to take advantage of the early-bird rate.

Alaska Air Group grows cargo capacity in Q2

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