Alaska Airlines and Horizon Air to defer aircraft deliveries in bid to check growth

Alaska Airlines and Horizon Air advised of plans to defer up to 14 aircraft deliveries by two years in a bid to control growth, alongside the suspension of several routes and other fleet adjustments (Seattle Times, 23-May-2018). VP of capacity planning John Kirby said Alaska Air Group is still expected to grow 4% in both 2019 and 2020, pointing out: "We're still a growth story. When you buy another airline and get 30 per cent larger and fuel prices go up about 25 per cent, it's natural to slow down your growth". VP of finance Mark Eliasen added Alaska will always be adjusting its growth and route network to "sync up our fleet and network with passenger demand".