Alaska Airlines said its third quarter adjusted earnings are expected to be at the low end of its previous guidance, the company said on September 15, 2025. The group, also including its subsidiary Hawaiian Airlines, guided earnings of $1 to $1.40 per share.
Alaska said this was mostly driven by “elevated fuel costs and operational challenges” during the summer period. As a result, this put pressure on the company's unit costs.
Refinery disruptions pushed its expected fuel price to $2.50-$2.55 per gallon, up from previous guidance of around $2.45. In addition, weather and air traffic control issues led to increased costs from overtime, premium pay, and passenger compensation. The July IT outage continues to carry an expected impact of around $0.10 earnings per share, which is now “weighted more heavily toward cost than revenue as originally contemplated”.
“Despite these pressures, revenue trends remain strong,” continued Alaska. “Unit revenue is tracking near the high end of our prior guidance range of flat to low-single-digit growth."
The company said premium cabin strength as well as double-digit rebound in corporate revenue since the second quarter of this year has led to positive yield growth in August.
Alaska added that sign-ups for its new premium credit card, launched with its new Atmos Rewards loyalty programme in August, had exceeded its year-end target within two weeks.