Alaska Airlines performance unsurpassed

Fifty years ago, Boeing, Weyerhaeuser and PACCAR were the “Crème de la crème” of Washington’s publicly traded corporations. Twenty-five years ago, Microsoft, Costco and Starbucks joined the list.

Now, when people talk about our state’s top businesses, Alaska Airlines is part of that conversation.

Alaska Air Group, consisting of Alaska, Horizon and now Virgin America airlines, is Seattle-based.

It is important to Washington because 7,000 of its 19,000 employees are located here and when indirect employment is added, it creates nearly 22,000 jobs statewide.

The airline contributes $2.28 billion...