Seeking Alpha: Alaska Air Still Different, Still Undervalued

I'm not sure any industry has a worse long-term reputation than airlines, but given that it is not so long ago that about 70% of the U.S. airline industry was in bankruptcy I'm not sure you can argue that reputation is undeserved. With that, I think the market has always waited in expectation for the other shoe to drop on Alaska Air Group (ALK), but the company stubbornly continues to out-execute and show that there is a better way to run an airline business.

Certainly Alaska Air is no longer any sort of hidden gem. The shares are up more than 80% over the past year, more than 500% over the past five years, and up almost 1,000% from the mid-2008 low. The company is facing more competition in some of its key routes, but returns and margins remain solidly above-average. I'm not naïve enough to believe that Alaska Air will ever get its full due, but I do still see some additional potential in these shares.

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Alaska Air Still Different, Still Undervalued