Alaska Air traffic up 5.4% in Feb. (ALK) By John Ittner

NEW YORK (MarketWatch)-- Alaska Air (ALK) said Friday that passenger traffic increased 5.4 percent to 1.184 billion revenue passenger miles in February vs. 1.123 billion a year ago. The passenger load factor (percentage of available seats occupied by fare-paying passengers)increased to 70.7 percent, compared to 67.7 percent a year ago in February. Alaska Air shares gained 92 cents Thursday to $29.95.