Alaska Airlines is still ironing out operational wrinkles following the acquisition of Virgin America last year. At the same time, its smaller, regional airline is still grappling with a pilot shortage.
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???The acquisition of Virgin America gives Alaska Air Group access to larger markets, like San Francisco and Los Angeles. During a quarterly earnings conference call, CEO Brad Tilden said that means the company is dealing with more congestion and constraint. ?? ?
“It’s not only air space and long taxi times, but the airplane comes in and there’s not a gate available,” Tilden said.?? ?
Fewer on-time arrivals and more delays and cancellations in the Northwest are the result of a pilot shortage at the company’s smaller, regional Horizon Air. Tilden said they need to improve pilot recruitment and better understand demand. ?? ?
“I think we fell short there, candidly,” he said. ?? ?
Meanwhile, Alaska Air group reports a $36 million increase in second quarter earnings compared to last year.