Alaska Airlines and Horizon Air 2013 Annual Report Download - page 116

We will also add new cities and non-stop routes
in 2014 as follows:
New Non-Stop Routes Frequency Start Date
Portland to Salt Lake
City ................. 2xDaily 6/9/2014
Portland to Kalispell ...... Daily (Seasonal) 6/9/2014
San Diego to Salt Lake
City ................. 2xDaily 6/10/2014
Los Angeles to Salt Lake
City ................. Daily 6/11/2014
San Jose to Salt Lake
City ................. Daily 6/12/2014
Seattle to New Orleans .... Daily 6/12/2014
Boise to Salt Lake City .... Daily 6/16/2014
Las Vegas to Salt Lake
City ................. 2xDaily 6/16/2014
San Francisco to Salt Lake
City ................. Daily 6/18/2014
Seattle to Detroit ........ Daily 6/20/2014
Seattle to Tampa ........ Daily 9/4/2014
Update on Labor Negotiations
In July 2013, Alaska Airlines’ pilots and
Horizon’s flight attendants approved new, five-
year contracts.
In December 2013, we reached a tentative five-
year agreement with Alaska's flight attendants,
represented by the Association of Flight
Attendants (AFA), which if approved, will provide
the Company and our employees the certainty
that comes with a long-term deal. The results of
voting are due February 14, 2014.
In February 2014, we reached a tentative five-
year agreement with the International
Association of Machinists and Aerospace
Workers (IAM) on terms of a new contract for
Alaska's clerical, operations, and passenger
services employees, whose contract became
amendable January 1, 2014. Horizon's
maintenance store employees, represented by
the IAM, continue to work towards their first
contract.
Capital Allocation
In 2013, we repurchased 2,492,093 shares of
our common stock for $159 million under the
share repurchase program authorized by our
Board of Directors. Since 2007, we have
repurchased 21 million shares of common stock
under such programs for $478 million for an
average price of approximately $23 per share.
Additionally, starting in the third quarter and for
the first time since 1992, we paid quarterly
dividends to our shareholders, totaling $28
million in 2013.
Outlook
Our primary focus every year is to run safe,
compliant and reliable operations at our airlines.
In addition to our primary objective, we will
remain focused on providing a hassle-free
experience for our customers, and building a
compelling brand to support network growth.
Specifically, we will continue to improve our in-
flight experience with our cabin upgrade project
featuring the Recaro seats with power outlets for
every passenger flying our B737-800, -900, and -
900ER aircraft.
Our biggest concern going forward is increased
competition in our markets, from both traditional
and low-cost competitors. Specifically, Delta Air
Lines is significantly increasing its international
and domestic departures in Seattle. We plan to
vigorously defend our markets through Mileage
Plan promotions, schedule changes, community
events, and similar responses. We also continue
to focus on lowering unit costs in the long-term
so that we can compete more effectively, and
increasing fuel efficiency by replacing older 737-
400 and 737-700 aircraft with larger 737-900ER
aircraft.
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