UNITED STATES SECURITIES AND EXCHANGE COMMISSION WASHINGTON, DC 20549 FORM 10-K _ANNUAL REPORT PURSUANT TO SECTION 13 OR 15(d) OF THE SECURITIES EXCHANGE ACT OF 1934 For the fiscal year ended December 31, 2018 OR TRANSITION REPORT PURSUANT TO SECTION 13 OR 15(d) OF THE SECURITIES EXCHANGE ACT OF 1934 For the transition period from to Commission File Number 1-8957 ALASKA AIR GROUP, INC. Delaware 91-1292054 (State of Incorporation) (I.R.S. Employer Identification No.) 19300 International Boulevard, Seattle, Washington 98188 Telephone: (206) 392-5040 Securities registered pursuant to Section 12(b) of the Act: Common Stock, $0.01 Par Value New York Stock Exchange Securities registered pursuant to Section 12(g) of the Act: None Indicate by check mark if the registrant is a well-known seasoned issuer, as defined in Rule 405 of the Securities Act. Yes _ No Indicate by check mark if the registrant is not required to file reports pursuant to Section 13 or Section 15(d) of the Act. Yes No _ Indicate by check mark whether the registrant (1) has filed all reports required to be filed by Section 13 or 15(d) of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934 during the preceding 12 months (or for such shorter period that the registrant was required to file such reports), and (2) has been subject to such filing requirements for the past 90 days. Yes _ No Indicate by check mark whether the registrant has submitted electronically and posted on its corporate Web site, if any, every Interactive Data File required to be submitted and posted pursuant to Rule 405 of Regulation S-T during the preceding 12 months (or for such shorter period that the registrant was required to submit and post such files). Yes _ No Indicate by check mark if disclosure of delinquent filers pursuant to Item 405 of Regulation S-K is not contained herein, and will not be contained, to the best of registrant’s knowledge, in definitive proxy or information statements incorporated by reference in Part III of this Form 10-K or any amendment to this Form 10-K. _ Indicate by check mark whether the registrant is a large accelerated filer, an accelerated filer, a non-accelerated filer or a smaller reporting company. See definitions of “large accelerated filer”, "accelerated filer" and "smaller reporting company" in Rule 12b-2 of the Exchange Act: Large accelerated filer _ Accelerated filer Non-accelerated filer Smaller reporting company Indicate by check mark whether the registrant is a shell company (as defined in Rule 12b-2 of the Exchange Act.): Yes No _ As of January 31, 2019, shares of common stock outstanding totaled 123,116,410. The aggregate market value of the shares of common stock of Alaska Air Group, Inc. held by nonaffiliates on June 30, 2018, was approximately $7.4 billion (based on the closing price of $60.39 per share on the New York Stock Exchange on that date). DOCUMENTS INCORPORATED BY REFERENCE Portions of Definitive Proxy Statement relating to 2019 Annual Meeting of Shareholders are incorporated by reference in Part III. ALASKA AIR GROUP, INC. ANNUAL REPORT ON FORM 10-K FOR THE YEAR ENDED DECEMBER 31, 2018 TABLE OF CONTENTS PART I 4 ITEM 1. OUR BUSINESS 4 ITEM 1A. RISK FACTORS 19 ITEM 1B. UNRESOLVED STAFF COMMENTS 25 ITEM 2. PROPERTIES 25 ITEM 3. LEGAL PROCEEDINGS 26 ITEM 4. MINE SAFETY DISCLOSURES 27 PART II 27 ITEM 5. MARKET FOR THE REGISTRANT’S COMMON EQUITY, RELATED STOCKHOLDER 27 MATTERS, AND ISSUER PURCHASES OF EQUITY SECURITIES ITEM 6. SELECTED CONSOLIDATED FINANCIAL AND OPERATING DATA 29 ITEM 7. MANAGEMENT’S DISCUSSION AND ANALYSIS OF FINANCIAL CONDITION AND 30 RESULTS OF OPERATIONS ITEM 7A. QUANTITATIVE AND QUALITATIVE DISCLOSURE ABOUT MARKET RISK 51 ITEM 8. CONSOLIDATED FINANCIAL STATEMENTS AND SUPPLEMENTARY DATA 52 ITEM 9. CHANGES IN AND DISAGREEMENTS WITH ACCOUNTANTS ON ACCOUNTING 90 AND FINANCIAL DISCLOSURE ITEM 9A. CONTROLS AND PROCEDURES 91 ITEM 9B. OTHER INFORMATION 94 PART III 94 ITEM 10. DIRECTORS, EXECUTIVE OFFICERS AND CORPORATE GOVERNANCE 94 ITEM 11. EXECUTIVE COMPENSATION 94 ITEM 12. SECURITY OWNERSHIP OF CERTAIN BENEFICIAL OWNERS AND MANAGEMENT, 94 AND RELATED STOCKHOLDER MATTERS ITEM 13. CERTAIN RELATIONSHIPS AND RELATED TRANSACTIONS, AND DIRECTOR 94 INDEPENDENCE ITEM 14. PRINCIPAL ACCOUNTANT FEES AND SERVICES 95 PART IV 95 ITEM 15. EXHIBITS 95 SIGNATURES 96 As used in this Form 10-K, the terms “Air Group,” the "Company," “our,” “we” and "us," refer to Alaska Air Group, Inc. and its subsidiaries, unless the context indicates otherwise. Alaska Airlines, Inc., Virgin America Inc. (through July 20, 2018, at which point it was legally merged into Alaska Airlines, Inc.), and Horizon Air Industries, Inc. are referred to as “Alaska,” "Virgin America" and “Horizon,” respectively, and together as our “airlines.” CAUTIONARY NOTE REGARDING FORWARD-LOOKING STATEMENTS In addition to historical information, this Form 10-K contains forward-looking statements within the meaning of Section 27A of the Securities Act of 1933, as amended, Section 21E of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, as amended, and the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995. Forward-looking statements are those that predict or describe future events or trends and that do not relate solely to historical matters. You can generally identify forward-looking statements as statements containing the words “believe,” “expect,” “will,” “anticipate,” “intend,” “estimate,” “project,” “assume” or other similar expressions, although not all forward-looking statements contain these identifying words. Forward-looking statements involve risks and uncertainties that could cause actual results to differ materially from historical experience or the Company’s present expectations. 2 You should not place undue reliance on our forward-looking statements because the matters they describe are subject to known and unknown risks, uncertainties and other unpredictable factors, many of which are beyond our control. Our forward-looking statements are based on the information currently available to us and speak only as of the date on which this report was filed with the SEC. We expressly disclaim any obligation to issue any updates or revisions to our forward- looking statements, even if subsequent events cause our expectations to change regarding the matters discussed in those statements. Over time, our actual results, performance or achievements will likely differ from the anticipated results, performance or achievements that are expressed or implied by our forward-looking statements, and such differences might be significant and materially adverse to our shareholders. For a discussion of these and other risk factors in this Form 10-K, see “Item 1A: Risk Factors.” Please consider our forward-looking statements in light of those risks as you read this report. 3 PART I ITEM 1. OUR BUSINESS Alaska Air Group is a Delaware corporation incorporated in 1985 that operates two airlines, Alaska and Horizon. Alaska was organized in 1932 and incorporated in 1937 in the state of Alaska. Horizon Air is a Washington corporation that was incorporated and began service in 1981. It was acquired by Air Group in 1986. Virgin America has been a member of Air Group since it was acquired in 2016. In 2018, Virgin America and Alaska combined operating certificates to become a single airline, and legally merged into a single entity. The Company also includes McGee Air Services, an aviation services provider that was established as a wholly-owned subsidiary of Alaska in 2016. Alaska and Horizon operate as separate airlines, with individual business plans, competitive factors and economic risks. Together with our regional partner airlines, we fly to 115 destinations with over 1,200 daily departures through an expansive network across the United States, Mexico, Canada, and Costa Rica. With global airline partners, we provide our guests with a network of more than 900 destinations worldwide. During 2018, we carried an all-time high 46 million guests and earned consolidated net income under Generally Accepted Accounting Principles (GAAP) of $437 million compared to net income of $960 million in 2017. Our adjusted net income was $554 million, which excludes merger-related costs, special items and mark- to-market fuel hedge adjustments. Refer to "Results of Operations" in Management's Discussion and Analysis for our reconciliation of Non-GAAP measures to the most directly comparable GAAP measure. We organize the business and review financial operating performance by aggregating our business in three operating segments, which are as follows: • Mainline - includes scheduled air transportation on Alaska's Boeing or Airbus jet aircraft for passengers and cargo throughout the U.S., and in parts of Canada, Mexico, and Costa Rica. • Regional - includes Horizon's and other third-party carriers’ scheduled air transportation for passengers across a shorter distance network within the U.S. under capacity purchase agreements (CPA). This segment includes the actual revenues and expenses associated with regional flying, as well as an allocation of corporate overhead incurred by Air Group on behalf of the regional operations. • Horizon - includes the capacity sold to Alaska under CPA. Expenses include those typically borne by regional airlines such as crew costs, ownership costs and maintenance costs. Our purpose is "creating an airline people love." The "ing" is to recognize that we are never done; we are continually working to improve. We believe our success depends on our ability to provide safe air transportation, develop relationships with guests by providing exceptional customer service and low fares, and maintain a low cost structure to compete effectively. It is important to us that we achieve our objective as a socially responsible company that values not just performance, but also our people, the communities we serve, and the environment. In 2018, we focused much of our energy on the integration of Virgin America, completing over 95% of our integration milestones.