Alaska Air Group Inc. ALK said Thursday it expects fourth-quarter capacity and revenue to come in at the high end of guidance, boosted by strong travel demand during the holiday season. “Our CASMex guide has improved to the better end of our prior guide, driven by our strong operational performance and cost execution,” the carrier said in a regulatory filing. “Revenue is also coming in slightly ahead of our original midpoint, driven by strong holiday bookings and improved close in demand.” However, fuel cost per gallon is tracking at the high end of its range at about $3.40, versus prior guidance of $3.30 to $3.40. The company raised its revenue guidance to growth of 2.25% to 3.25%, from prior guidance of up 1% to 4%. It expects capacity measured as available seat miles to be up 13% to 14%, compared with prior guidance of 11% to 14%. Cost per available seat mile excluding fuel is expected to be down about 5% compared with prior guidance of down 3% to 5%. The stock was up 0.6% premarket but is down 10% in the year to date, while the U.S. Global JETS ETF JETS has gained 10% and the S&P 500 SPX has gained 22.6%.
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