In the news:
Originally published February 29, 2012 at 12:43 PM | Page modified March 1, 2012 at 6:50 AM
Alaska Air pays average $5,200 annual bonus to local employees
The parent of Alaska Airlines and Horizon Air paid annual bonuses totaling $53.8 million to most of its 12,800 employees, including $33 million to about 6,300 employees in the Puget Sound area.
Seattle Times aerospace reporter
Alaska Air Group paid annual bonuses totaling $53.8 million Wednesday to most of its 12,800 employees, including $33 million to about 6,300 Alaska Airlines and Horizon Air employees in the Puget Sound area.
The bonus, awarded for exceeding 2011 operational and financial goals, is about 6.7 percent of annual pay, or more than three weeks' pay for most workers, and averages just over $5,200 for employees in this area.
It comes in addition to a total of about $1,000 in monthly bonuses that each employee earned last year for achieving monthly on-time and customer-satisfaction targets. The combined monthly and annual bonuses amounted to nearly $72 million.
Brad Tilden, Alaska Air Group's CEO-elect, pointed to two awards the airline won last year: Alaska Airlines was No. 1 in on-time performance among major North American carriers in 2011; and for the fourth year in a row, a J.D. Power and Associates study ranked Alaska highest in "customer satisfaction" among traditional network carriers in North America.
"We earned these awards because of the hard work and dedication of our people," Tilden said in a statement. "I want to thank them for their focus on running a safe and on-time operation, and for their commitment to our customers."
Employees in the Portland area will get a total of $7.6 million in annual bonuses. Workers in the state of Alaska will get $5.3 million.
Dominic Gates: 206-464-2963 or dgates@seattletimes.com
