Alaska Air Group’s Q4 cargo revenue up 10.6%

Alaska Air Group, the only scheduled passenger airline in the United States that operates its own freighters, reported $549 million in “cargo and other revenue” for 2025. “The top-end revenue and the margin is really good coming in on the cargo side,” Chief Operating Officer Jason Berry said on today’s earnings call. [caption id="attachment_57295104" align="aligncenter" width="1870"] Alaska operates five 737 freighters of its own. (Courtesy/Alaska Air Cargo)[/caption] The carrier group also reported $146 million in fourth-quarter cargo revenue, a 10.6% year-over-year increase. A year-over-year comparison for 2025 is not instructive as Alaska Air Group, also the parent company of Hawaiian Airlines following its $1.9 billion acquisition in September 2024, only included Hawaiian’s earnings partially in its Q3 2024 results and fully in its Q4 2024 results. Alaska Air Group obtained a single AOC for the two airlines in October, Chief Executive Benito Minicucci said on the call. Alaska Airlines operates five freighters: two 737-800BCFs (35681 and 35682) and three 737-700BDSFs (30792, 30793 and 30794). Hawaiian signed a deal in 2022 to operate ten converted A330-300 freighters for Amazon on a CMI basis. Hawaiian is 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 2025. “We just actually got to a single selling platform [for Alaska Air Cargo and Hawaiian Cargo] earlier this month, and that's really helping us [make] it a lot simpler for our customers on the cargo side to book with us,” Berry said. “We expect to continue to see positive growth on that.” Annual and quarterly results The 2025 government shutdown , which ran from Oct. 1 to Nov. 12, reduced Q4 earnings by about $30 million, or 15 cents per share, Chief Commercial Officer Andrew Harrison said on the call. Near the end of the shutdown, the U.S. DOT and FAA implemented flight cuts in response to the air traffic controller shortage. The shutdown exacerbated the shortage, as it prevented controllers from receiving their paychecks. The carrier group reported $14.2 billion in total operating revenue in 2025. It also reported for 2025: Net income of $100 million; Operating income of $303 million; Income before taxes of $146 million; and Diluted earnings per share of 83 cents. Alaska Air Group reported $3.6 billion in Q4 total operating revenue, up 2.8% YoY. It also reported in Q4: Net income of $21 million, down 70.4% YoY; Operating income of $75 million, up 2.7% YoY; Income before taxes of $30 million, down 62% YoY; and Diluted earnings per share of 18 cents, down 67.3% YoY. The carrier group did not explain why these figures fell so drastically YoY in its earnings report or on its call today. IT outages The carrier group experienced two IT outages in the second half of 2025 that snarled operations. The first, in July 2025, resulted in a three-hour ground stop. Alaska Air Group attributed an 8.6% YoY increase in costs — excluding fuel, freighter costs and special items — in Q3 to the July outage and several weeks of challenging weather, the company reported in its Q3 earnings on Oct. 23, 2025. The second outage occurred the same day the group released its Q3 earnings. It forced Alaska Airlines to cancel more than 200 flights, the carrier said in a social media post at the time. “The two outages we experienced last year were painful for our guests, employees and financial results,” Minicucci said. “ Corrective actions are underway and will continue throughout the year, supported by third-party experts, as we invest in both near-term fixes and long-term sustainable solutions.” Outlook Alaska Air Group expects an adjusted loss per share between $1.50 and 50 cents in Q1, and an adjusted earnings per share between $3.50 and $6.50 in full-year 2026. The carrier group said its guidance for 2026 “reflects a wide range of potential macroeconomic outcomes” amid industry volatility. Shares of Alaska Air Group ( NYSE: ALK ) were up 4.13% from market open to $50.88 as of market close today. The company has a market capitalization of $6 billion. Cargo Facts will present four invaluable events for airfreight professionals in the first half of 2026, starting with Cargo Facts LATAM, on Feb. 10-12. To see the agendas and register for the events, visit CargoFactsEvents.com .

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