GroundSupportWorldWide.com |

ATLANTA --

Alaska Air Group Inc., operator of Alaska Airlines and Horizon Air, said more traffic and higher revenue helped it post a $24.1 million fourth-quarter profit.

The company, based in Seattle, said Thursday its earnings for the final three months of 2009 amounted to 67 cents a share, compared to a loss of $75.2 million, or $2.08 a share, for the same period in 2008.

Without certain items, its profit came to 12 cents a share for the quarter.

Revenue in the quarter rose more than 2 percent to $846.1 million from $827.1 million a year earlier.

Analysts surveyed by Thomson Reuters expected adjusted fourth-quarter profit of 32 cents a share on revenue of $821.2 million.

Alaska Air Group reported full-year 2009 net income of $121.6 million, or $3.36 a share, compared to a net loss of $135.9 million, or $3.74 a share, in 2008. Twelve-month revenue fell to $3.40 billion from $3.66 billion in 2008.

The company spent $172.5 million on aircraft fuel, including hedging gains and losses, in the fourth quarter, less than half of the $358.8 million it spent in the same period of 2008.

Alaska Air is doing better financially than some of the bigger carriers because it does not have as much international exposure as them.