Statements of Cash Flows (USD $) In Thousands, unless otherwise specified	12 Months Ended
	Dec. 31, 2011	Dec. 31, 2010	Dec. 31, 2009
Operating Activities:
Net income	$ 76,448	$ 72,481	$ 83,693
Adjustments to reconcile net income to net cash provided by operations:
Changes in fair value of open fuel hedge contracts	3,203	(2,064)	(1,449)
Gain on debt extinguishment			(19,711)
Non-cash restructuring credit charges, net		22	60
Equity based stock compensation, net	530	569	113
Allowance for doubtful accounts	27	(110)	109
Amortization of deferred gains and debt issuance costs	(1,047)	(574)	(255)
Depreciation and amortization	7,760	5,620	4,924
Deferred income tax benefit (loss)	44,180	(52,811)
Loss on disposal of assets	255	77	1,010
Interest and dividends incurred but not paid	21,875	43,202	38,080
Capitalized interest	(2,890)	(1,491)	(951)
Changes in operating assets and liabilities:
Restricted cash	72,736	(20,196)	16,857
Accounts receivable	(5,728)	(1,014)	(2,450)
Prepaid maintenance reserves	(36,848)	(35,694)	(26,923)
Long-term deposits and other assets	(15,992)	(13,981)	(6,542)
Accounts payable	2,457	(2,007)	(6,566)
Air traffic liability	6,573	19,107	(3,239)
Other liabilities	(2,189)	16,132	(7,313)
Other	(152)	(235)	(380)
Net cash provided by operating activities	171,198	27,033	69,067
Investing activities:
Proceeds from sale of property and equipment	150	333	19,491
Pre-delivery deposits for flight equipment, net of refunds	(53,274)	(25,474)	(2,384)
Purchase of property and equipment, net	(14,093)	(5,325)	(14,778)
Net cash used in investing activities	(67,217)	(30,466)	2,329
Financing activities:
Proceeds from issuance of debt			2,000
Proceeds from issuance of common stock, net of offering expenses	170,828
Proceeds from options exercised	423	0	0
Payments on debt and capital lease obligations	(18,221)		(2,239)
Proceeds from sale leaseback transactions	4,481	0	0
Repurchase of restricted common stock	(886)		(43)
Debt issuance costs	8		(1,196)
Net cash provided by financing activities	156,633	0	(1,478)
Net increase (decrease) in cash and cash equivalents	260,614	(3,433)	69,918
Cash and cash equivalents at beginning of period	82,714	86,147	16,229
Cash and cash equivalents at end of period	343,328	82,714	86,147
Supplemental disclosures
Interest Paid	10,562	4,303	12,177
Taxes paid	1,477	562	1,974
Non-cash transactions
Exchange of notes due to related parties for common stock	279,206
Exchange of mandatorily redeemable preferred stock for common stock	81,747
Liability and equity related to tax receivable agreement	$ 36,488