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ATLANTA - Alaska Air Group Inc., operator of Alaska Airlines and Horizon Air, reports third-quarter results on Thursday. The following is a summary of key developments and analyst opinion related to the period.

OVERVIEW: The Seattle-based company is expected to post an adjusted profit for the July-September quarter.

Alaska is among a small group of low-fare airlines expected to post profits for the third quarter. It is insulated from the slump in international travel, and its lower fares may have helped it win over U.S. passengers during the recession. It flies to many leisure destinations that are popular in the summer.

Alaska Airlines also has made significant improvement in recent months in its on-time performance.

The parent company's traffic edged slightly higher in September. The company said paying passengers flew 1.45 billion miles in September, up 1.4 percent from last year. Load factor, or the number of seats filled, rose 2.1 points to 77.9 percent.

For the first nine months of the year, traffic was down 4.1 percent to 13.81 billion revenue passenger miles. Load factor rose 1.7 points, to 79.1 percent.

Together, Alaska Airlines and Horizon Air serve more than 90 cities through their network in Alaska, Hawaii, the continental U.S., Canada and Mexico. Alaska Air Group has a marketing alliance with Atlanta-based Delta Air Lines Inc., the world's biggest airline operator.

BY THE NUMBERS: Analysts polled by Thomson Reuters, on average, expect Alaska Air Group to post a third-quarter profit of $2.26 a share on revenue of $971.5 million. Analysts' projections generally exclude one-time items. The airline posted a net loss of $86.5 million, or $2.40 a share, in the third quarter of 2008 on sales of nearly $1.07 billion.

ANALYST TAKE: Merrill Lynch analyst Michael Linenberg said in an Oct. 9 research note that his firm's 12-month price goal for Alaska Air Group is $40 a share. He said fuel price volatility is, by far, the biggest risk for Alaska in achieving his earnings forecast and price objective. "Alaska also faces new competition on some of its key routes as well as one of the highest unit labor costs among U.S. carriers," he wrote.

WHAT'S AHEAD: The Department of Transportation has still not made a decision on Alaska Airlines' petition questioning the citizenship status of privately held carrier Virgin America, which is based in Burlingame, Calif. Alaska Airlines is among the carriers that stands to gain if Virgin America's ability to operate in the U.S. is impeded. Virgin America has said it complies with U.S. regulations.

STOCK PERFORMANCE: Alaska Air shares rose 43 percent during the third quarter. The stock closed at $18.70 on July 1 and ended the quarter Sept. 30 at $26.79.

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On the Net:

Alaska Air Group Inc.: http://www.alaskaair.com