Alaska Air Group's (NYSE: ALK) robust air travel demand is boosting its top line. Shareholder-friendly actions and fleet upgrade efforts are praiseworthy. However, high operating costs are hindering the company's bottom line. Factors Favoring ALK Buoyed by strong air travel demand, Alaska Air issued optimistic earnings per share guidance for the second quarter of 2024 between $2.20 and $2.40 and for the full-year 2024 between $3.25 and $5.25. ALK is boosting capacity and expects available seat miles (a measure of capacity) to increase in the range of 5-7% in the second quarter of 2024 to meet the upbeat demand. Our estimate hints at an increase of 5.5%. The company implemented an enhanced quality oversight program to validate aircraft work and quality during production. ALK's shareholder-friendly actions bode well. Resuming share buybacks ...