Analysts Take Alaska Airlines to Task for Mishandling a Broad Array of Issues
Photo Credit: Captain Nick Cosmakos and first officer Niclina Cosmakos are a father-daughter flight crew. Alaska Airlines was surprised at the price war in its California market. Alaska Air
Skift Take
Many have dreamt of finding easy fortune in California. But Alaska Airlines is discovering -- via its merger with Virgin America -- that the airport tarmacs aren't paved with gold.
Alaska Air Group's takeover of Virgin America created the fifth-biggest carrier by revenue in the U.S. -- and a lot of headaches for company executives.
The deal gave Alaska a stronger foothold in California. Alaska-Virgin now has the largest number of seats among airlines serving that state.
But other carriers have been discounting airfares on intra-California routes and on transcontinental routes to and from California -- especially on so-called walk-up fares that are booked relatively close to departure.
United has been especially aggressive in San Francisco, while Southwest has been aggressive on other routes. Meanwhile, Delta has been pressuring Alaska in its home turf of Seattle.
Alaska Was Forced to Match the Discounters
The discounting forced Alaska into matching to maintain its market share. These pricing battles will continue for months to come, according to executives speaking during Alaska's third-quarter earnings call Wednesd
