Alaska Air continues to face a menacing Delta but still posts strong 1Q2014 results

Alaska Air Group's strong financial performance in 1Q2014 was largely overshadowed by the competitive issue that has dogged the company throughout the last year - how Delta's abandonment of Alaska and the mammoth carrier's build-up in Seattle will ultimately affect Alaska.

Beyond acknowledging that the capacity Delta is introducing in Seattle is challenging, and laying out a detailed plan to combat some of the oversupply, there is little Alaska can do to shine a light on exactly how the new dynamics at its largest base and headquarters will ultimately affect its fortunes.

If the supply-demand scenario remains unbalanced on certain routes from Seattle over a long period of time, then something will have to change. At that point it will be interesting to see if Delta with all its scale and might pulls back, or if Alaska is forced to re-think how it utilises its most important hub.