Alaska Airlines reaches investment grade as Delta Air Lines’ full assault in Seattle gets under way

Just as competition heats up at its largest base and headquarters in Seattle, Alaska Air Group in mid-Jun-2014 obtained investment grade status from ratings agency Fitch - a designation held by few global airlines and only one other US airline - Southwest Airlines.

Alaska's rival - and partner - Delta, which is now often dubbed the darling of the industry for its strong financial performance, has been working consistently to achieve what it deems as "investment grade like" metrics.

Alaska's ability to deliver a real investment grade performance reflects strong fundamentals including a favourable leverage ratio and consistently strong cash flow. But much of the company's ability to achieve consistently solid results has gone largely unnoticed during the past few years, and now with Delta's relentless pursuit of expansion in Seattle at the expense of Alaska, the financial foundation Alaska has built is now more important than ever.