Alaska Air Catches Up on Carving Out New Revenues

Among larger U.S airlines, Alaska Airlines was one of the last carriers to take so-called segmentation seriously. But the airline has caught up, slicing and dicing its cabins to maximize revenue, executives said Tuesday on their fourth quarter earnings call. Since 2017, Alaska has added several new products, including what it calls premium class, for extra-legroom seats that come with a few amenities, and Saver Fares, a bare-bones product with seats set aside in the back of the airplane. It also has invested in first class, putting more seats on larger jets, and adding the product on regional jets that previously were all-coach. The results has been good for revenue. Before 2017, executives said, sales of first class seats accounted for about 7 percent of the company's overall revenue mix. Now, sales of all premium seats, including the extra-legroom section, represent about 22 percent of overall revenues. That should gr