GENERAL AND SUMMARY OF SIGNIFICANT ACCOUNTING POLICIES (TABLES)

12 Months Ended

Dec. 31, 2012

Schedule of Error Corrections and Prior Period Adjustments [Table Text Block]

Reclassifications

Certain reclassifications have been made to conform the prior-year data to the current format. During the second quarter of 2012, the Company changed the classification of ancillary revenues, such as checked-bag fees, ticket change fees, and others, from "Passenger revenue" to "Other-net" revenue to enhance comparability of passenger revenue among peers in the industry. The Company has reclassified ancillary revenues in the current period and all prior periods, with the reclassification having no impact on total revenue for any of the respective periods. The table below shows operating revenues originally reported in the Form 10-K for the years ended December 31, 2011 and 2010 and the effect of the reclassification on the consolidated statement of operations (in millions):



	December 31, 2011				December 31, 2010
	As Reclassified		Reported		As Reclassified		Reported
Operating Revenues
Passenger
Mainline	$	2,995	$	3,176	$	2,595	$	2,763
Regional	713		775		671		726
Total passenger revenue	3,708		3,951		3,266		3,489
Freight and mail	109		109		106		106
Other - net	501		258		460		237
Total Operating Revenues	$	4,318	$	4,318	$	3,832	$	3,832

Property, Plant and Equipment [Table Text Block]

Property and equipment are recorded at cost and depreciated using the straight-line method over their estimated useful lives, which are as follows:



Aircraft and related flight equipment:
Boeing 737 aircraft	20 years
Bombardier Q400	15 years
Buildings	25-30 years
Minor building and land improvements	10 years
Capitalized leases and leasehold improvements	Shorter of lease term or estimated useful life
Computer hardware and software	3-5 years
Other furniture and equipment	5-10 years

“Related flight equipment” includes rotable and repairable spare inventories, which are depreciated over the associated fleet life unless otherwise noted.

Liabilities from Mileage Plan [Table Text Block]

Alaska’s Mileage Plan deferred revenue and liabilities on the consolidated balance sheets as of December 31 (in millions):



	2012		2011
Current Liabilities:
Other accrued liabilities	$	285	$	271
Other Liabilities and Credits:
Deferred revenue	428		392
Other liabilities	17		17
Total	$	730	$	680

Revenue from Mileage Plan [Table Text Block]

Alaska’s Mileage Plan revenue included in the consolidated statements of operations for the years ended December 31 (in millions):



	2012		2011		2010
Passenger revenues	$	183	$	201	$	190
Other-net revenues	209		195		183
Total Mileage Plan revenues	$	392	$	396	$	373

- Definition

Tabular disclosure of the useful life and salvage value of long-lived, physical assets that are used in the normal conduct of business to produce goods and services and not intended for resale. Examples include land, buildings, machinery and equipment, and other types of furniture and equipment including, but not limited to, office equipment, furniture and fixtures, and computer equipment and software.

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- Definition

Tabular disclosure of prior period adjustments to previously issued financial statements including (1) the effect of the correction on each financial statement line item and any per-share amounts affected for each prior period presented (2) the cumulative effect of the change on retained earnings or other appropriate components of equity or net assets in the statement of financial position, as of the beginning of the earliest period presented, and (3) the effect of the prior period adjustments (both gross and net of applicable income tax) on the net income of each prior period presented in the entity's annual report for the year in which the adjustments are made.

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