Excerpts from Alaska 2nd Quarter earnings call

We're enhancing the in-person guest experience with new technology and a beautiful new terminal and lounge at San Francisco, where we are the second-largest carrier and a state-of-the-art stunning, and brand-new lobby in Portland. We're also stepping up our premium exposure, given the strength in demand and shift in guest preference toward this segment. With the first modification set to begin this September, this was a decision made some time ago. We'll be adding six premium class seats to our 737-900ER and MAX9 fleets and four first-class seats to our 737-800 fleet, driving our total premium seat mix up 3 points to 28% when completed. Benito Minicucci

First-class and premium-class revenues were up 8% and 6% year over year, respectively, and continue to outpace main cabin revenue growth. Paid first class load factor was 71% for the quarter, up four points on flat yields. As Ben mentioned, we are continuing to invest in premium seating. Late last year, we added a row of premium class to our regional Embraer 175 fleet, and starting this fall, approximately 220 of our mainline aircraft on property, including all our 800s, 900ERs, and MAX8s and 9s, will start being fitted with additional premium seats, with loss in total ship seats with program completion by mid-2026. Andrew R. Harrison

And also in the labor costs category, there is a little more than a 1-point headwind from the annualization of our pilot wage snap up to industry from last September and the new agreement with our technicians from late last year. We are excited about the investments we've been able to make in our people and with line of sight to closing our last labor deal of this round of bargaining, we now have more visibility into our future cost structure which we now need to fully adapt our business model to. Importantly, our long-term strategy and commitment is to maintain our unit cost advantage versus our competitors and we remain confident this continues to be the case. On a stage length-adjusted CASMex basis, we still expect to finish the year with one of the best results in the industry versus 2019. Shane R. Tackett

More 2nd Q earning information here