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Alaska reports profit after tough year Thursday Jan 25, 2018 at 6:55 PM Jan 25, 2018 at 6:55 PM Greg Stiles Mail Tribune @GregMTBusiness Horizon Air's parent company Alaska Air Group reported a $1 billion profit for 2017, with $274 million coming from the recent tax legislation. The Seattle-based company that bases some of its Horizon crews in Medford will pay out $118 million in annual performance bonuses. It was a bumpy year, however, in some ways as the Air Group struggled to integrate Virgin America into its fold and canceled thousands of flights and dropped many Horizon routes as it had difficulty hiring pilots. Earlier this month Gary Beck and Constance von Muehlen were given Horizon's reins. Alaska Air Group CEO Brad Tilden said the leadership change at Horizon has produced results. "We've now operated three months without a single pilot-related cancellation," Tilden said. "We are very optimistic about Horizon's future, as we're consolidating our headquarters in Seattle, as we're building better career pathways between the two companies for front-line employees starting with pilots." Tilden said Alaska Air Group will take delivery of 25 E175s between Horizon and SkyWest. "We expect to retire 13 Q400s bringing the regional fleet to 95 units at the end of 2018, of which 61 percent will be modern, comfortable and versatile E175s," he said. It's not clear if those jets will immediately appear in the Rogue Valley. Alaska said the costs of the merger with Virgin America have peaked while anticipating substantial revenue growth. Alaska/Horizon has been the market leader at the Medford airport for much of the last decade. But after dropping routes to Los Angeles, Horizon will likely fall behind United, which is adding nonstop service to Los Angeles International Airport later this year. Delta, which is competing heavily with Alaska at Sea-Tac Airport, has also added a route to Seattle, putting further pressure on Horizon's local performance. — Reach reporter Greg Stiles at 541-776-4463 or [email protected]. Follow him on Twitter at www.twitter.com/GregMTBusiness or www.facebook.com/greg.stiles.31.