Alaska Airlines and Horizon Air 2014 Annual Report Download - page 89

As we look to the future, we will build on the success of the past few years by executing our strategic
plan – the Five Focus Areas:
Safety and Compliance
We have an unwavering commitment to run a safe and compliant operation, and we will not compromise
this commitment in the pursuit of other initiatives. Alaska and Horizon, in coordination with the FAA, are
implementing a Safety Management System (SMS) to better identify and manage risk. Both airlines are
in the final phase of SMS implementation and are on track for completion and final FAA-certification in
2015. During the current year, 100% of our Alaska and Horizon aircraft technicians completed the
requirements for the FAA’s “Diamond Certificate of Excellence” award. This is the 13th consecutive year
Alaska Airlines has received the award and the 13th time in the last 15 years for Horizon. In 2014, we
launched Ready, Safe, Go - a safety campaign designed to increase safety awareness across the Air
Group System.
People Focus
Our success depends on our employees. Higher employee engagement drives higher productivity,
superior execution, and better customer service, which is why we listen to our employees for feedback
in shaping our strategy. In 2014, our employee engagement was at 82% in our annual employee survey,
up from 79% in the prior year. To help develop and train our people on core leadership principles and
promote engagement across our airlines, all of Air Group’s leaders participated in a multi-day workshop
called “Gear Up”. We plan to sponsor “Gear Up 2” in 2015 to further increase employee engagement.
We understand that aligning our employees’ goals with the company’s goals is important in achieving
success. All employees participate in our Performance-Based Pay (PBP) and Operational Performance
Rewards (OPR) programs, which encourage employees to work together to achieve metrics related to
safety, profitability, on-time performance, low costs and customer satisfaction. Over the last five years,
our incentive programs have paid out on average, 8.7% of annual pay, or more than one month’s pay,
for most employees. This is consistent with one of our guiding principles that we want to pay our people
well with a goal of reaching the industry’s best productivity over time. To that end, we signed four long-
term agreements with various labor groups during the year, which provide the company, employees, and
investors with long-term stability.
Hassle-Free Customer Experience
We want to be the easiest airline to fly. In each step of the customer’s journey, from booking a ticket to
check-in, from flying in our aircraft to claiming baggage at the final destination, we want to provide a
hassle-free experience for our customers. Our industry-leading on-time performance for the past five
years make us reliable to our customers, and we are the only airline that guarantees checked baggage
delivery to the carousel within 20 minutes. Customers can tag their own bags at airport kiosks, or in
some cases at their homes, and we now have fingerprint scan entry to our airport lounges
(Boardrooms). We lead the travel industry in mobile innovation with iPhone, Android, and Microsoft apps
that allow passengers to purchase tickets, check-in, upgrade seats, and reserve food for the flight - all
with helpful notifications that inform customers when there are changes to their flights. The
Transportation Security Administration (TSA) Pre-Check Program is available in 28 of our locations,
which allows eligible customers to opt-in for reduced screening requirements. We also introduced the
Alaska Listens survey with five simple questions designed to get timely feedback from our customers -
and we guarantee a response within 72 hours if there is an issue that needs to be resolved. As
passengers take more control of their travel experience, we are able to reduce the time it takes a
customer to move from the airport curb to the aircraft.
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