ALK.

N on New York Stock Exchange

70.83USD
15 Dec 2017
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FULL DESCRIPTION
Alaska Air Group, Inc., incorporated on March 15, 1985, is the holding company of Alaska Airlines (Alaska),
Virgin America Inc., Horizon Air (Horizon) and other business units. The Company operates through three
segments: Mainline, Regional and Horizon. Its Mainline segment includes Alaska's and Virgin America's
scheduled air transportation for passengers and cargo throughout the United States, and in parts of Canada,
Mexico, Costa Rica and Cuba. Its Regional segment includes Horizon's and other third-party carriers'
scheduled air transportation for passengers across a shorter distance network within the United States under
capacity purchased arrangements (CPAs). Its Horizon segment includes the capacity sold to Alaska under
CPA. Alaska and Virgin America operate fleets of narrowbody passenger jets. Horizon operates a fleet of
turboprop aircraft and sells all of its capacity to Alaska pursuant to a CPA.

As of December 31, 2016, the Company maintained two frequent flyer plans: the Alaska Airlines Mileage Plan
and the Virgin America Elevate. Mileage Plan provides a suite of frequent flyer benefits. Miles can be earned
by flying on Alaska or on one of its 24 airline partners, by using the Alaska Airlines credit card, or through other
non-airline partners. The Elevate program allows guests to earn points for purchasing travel that are
redeemable for travel awards throughout its network and the networks of Virgin America's airline partners.

Mainline

The Company's Mainline segment operations include the Boeing 737 (B737) and Airbus family (A319 and
A320) jet service offered by Alaska and Virgin America. It offers passenger service from the western United
States throughout the contiguous United States, Alaska, Hawaii, Canada, Mexico, Costa Rica and Cuba. It
also offers cargo service throughout its network and had cargo aircraft that operate primarily to and within the
state of Alaska. As of December 31, 2016, its mainline operating fleet consisted of 155 B737 jet aircraft and 63
Airbus A320 family jet aircraft.

Regional

The Company's Regional segment operations consist of flights operated by Horizon, SkyWest Airlines, Inc.
(SkyWest) and Peninsula Airways, Inc. (PenAir). As of December 31, 2016, Horizon's operating fleet consisted
of 52 Bombardier Q400 turboprop aircraft. As of December 31, 2016, the regional fleet operated by SkyWest
consisted of 15 E175 aircraft.

The Company competes with Delta Air Lines.

Air Products and Chemicals, Inc., incorporated on May 25, 1961, is an industrial
gases company. The Company's Industrial Gases business provides atmospheric
and process gases and related equipment to manufacturing markets, including
refining and petrochemical, metals, electronics, and food and beverage. The
Company is also a supplier of liquefied natural gas process technology and
equipment. The Company operates through five segments: Industrial Gases-
Americas, Industrial Gases-Europe, Middle East, and Africa (EMEA), Industrial
Gases-Asia, Industrial Gases-Global, and Corporate and other.

The Company, through subsidiaries, affiliates, and less-than-controlling interests,

conducts business in approximately 50 countries outside the United States. The
Company has foreign subsidiaries that operate in Canada, over 17 European
countries (including the United Kingdom, the Netherlands, and Spain), 11 Asian
countries (including China, Korea, and Taiwan), eight Latin American countries
(including Chile and Brazil), approximately two African countries, and a Middle
Eastern country. The Company also owns less-than-controlling interests in entities
operating in Europe, Asia, Africa, the Middle East and Latin America (including Italy,
Germany, China, India, Saudi Arabia, Singapore, Thailand, the United Arab
Emirates, South Africa and Mexico). The Company pursues a market-oriented
approach to technology development through research and development,
engineering, and commercial development processes. It conducts research and
development principally in its laboratories located in the United States (Trexlertown,
Pennsylvania; Carlsbad, California; Milton, Wisconsin, and Phoenix, Arizona),
Canada (Vancouver), the United Kingdom (Basingstoke and Carrington), Germany
(Hamburg), the Netherlands (Utrecht), Spain (Barcelona), Japan (Kawasaki), China
(Shanghai), Korea (Giheung), and Taiwan (Chupei and Hsinchu City). The Company
also funds and cooperates in research and development programs conducted by
various universities and undertakes research work funded by others-principally the
United States Government.

The Company's Industrial Gases business produces atmospheric gases (oxygen,

nitrogen, argon, and rare gases), process gases (hydrogen, helium, carbon dioxide,
carbon monoxide, syngas and specialty gases) and equipment for the production or
processing of gases, such as air separation units and non-cryogenic generators.
Atmospheric gases are produced through various air separation processes of which
cryogenic is the most prevalent. Process gases are produced by methods other than
air separation. The Company's Industrial Gases business is organized and operated
regionally. The regional Industrial Gases segments (Americas, EMEA and Asia)
include the results of its regional Industrial Gases businesses, which supply gases
and related equipment in the relevant region to diversified customers in various
industries, including those in metals, glass, chemical processing, electronics, energy
production and refining, food processing, metallurgical industries, medical and
general manufacturing. The Company distributes gases to its customers through a
range of supply modes: Liquid Bulk, Packaged Gases and On-Site Gases. Through
Liquid Bulk the Company delivers product in bulk (in liquid or gaseous form) by
tanker or tube trailer and stored, usually in its liquid state, in equipment designed
and installed typically by the Company at the customer's site for vaporizing into a
gaseous state as needed. Liquid bulk sales are usually governed by three- to five-
year contracts. Through Packaged Gases mode small quantities of products are
delivered in either cylinders or dewars.

The Company operates packaged gas businesses in Europe, Asia, and Latin
America. In the United States, the Company's packaged gas business sells products
only for the electronics and magnetic resonance imaging (principally helium)
industries. Through On-Site Gases mode, hydrogen, carbon monoxide, nitrogen,
oxygen, and syngas (a mixture of hydrogen and carbon monoxide) are provided to
customers, principally the energy production and refining, chemical and metallurgical
industries around the world requiring gases that have relatively constant demand.
Gases are produced at facilities located adjacent to customers' facilities or by
pipeline systems from centrally located production facilities and are generally
governed by 15- to 20- year contracts. The Company also delivers small quantities
of product through small on-site plants (cryogenic or non-cryogenic generators),
typically either through a 10- to 15- year sale of gas contract or through the sale of
the equipment to the customer.

The Company designs and manufactures equipment for air separation, hydrocarbon
recovery and purification, natural gas liquefaction (LNG), and liquid helium and liquid
hydrogen transport and storage. The Industrial Gases-Global segment includes
cryogenic and non-cryogenic equipment for air separation. The equipment is sold
around the world to customers in a range of industries, including chemical and
petrochemical manufacturing, oil and gas recovery, and processing and steel, and
primary metals processing. Other activities, which are managed globally instead of
regionally, are also part of this segment, such as technology development for air
separation. The Corporate and other segment includes over two global equipment
businesses, its LNG sale of equipment business and its liquid helium and liquid
hydrogen transport and storage containers business. Steel, aluminum and capital
equipment subcomponents (compressors, etc.) are the principal raw materials in the
manufacturing of equipment in this business segment. Materials Technologies
segment employs applications technology to provide solutions to a range of global
industries through chemical synthesis, analytical technology, process engineering
and surface science. It consists of two business divisions: Performance Materials,
which is focused on a portfolio of additives products that provide high value
properties at low cost across a range of industries, and Electronics Materials, which
is focused on supplying critical materials and equipment to the semiconductor
industry.

Industrial Gases-Global

The Company's Industrial Gases-Global segment manufactures air separation

equipment in Missouri, Utah, Pennsylvania, and China. Research and development
(R&D) activities for this business segment are conducted at approximately three
owned locations in the United States and Europe and over four leased locations in
Canada, Europe and Asia. Hydrogen fueling stations built by the Company supports
demonstration projects in California, Europe and Asia. Helium is processed at sites
in Kansas, Wyoming, Colorado, and Texas; and then distributed to/from transfill sites
in the United States, Canada, Europe and Asia.

Industrial Gases-Americas

The Company's Industrial Gases-Americas segment operates from over 295

production and distribution facilities in North and South America (approximately 1/4th
of which are located on owned property), and over 10% of which are integrated sites
that serve dedicated customers, as well as merchant customers. The Company has
property rights and permits for the ongoing operation of its pipeline systems in the
Gulf Coast, California and Arizona in the United States and Alberta and Ontario,
Canada. Management and sales support is based in its Trexlertown and Santiago
offices and at approximately 10 leased properties located throughout North and
South America.

Industrial Gases-EMEA

The Company's Industrial Gases-EMEA segment operates from over 150 production
and distribution facilities in Europe, the Middle East and Africa (approximately 1/3rd
of which are on owned property). The Company has property rights and permits for
the ongoing operation of its pipeline systems in the Netherlands, the United
Kingdom, Belgium, France and Germany. Management and sales support for this
business segment is based in Hersham, England, Barcelona, Spain and at 12 leased
office sites located throughout the region.

Industrial Gases-Asia

The Company's Industrial Gases-Asia segment operates from over 150 production
and distribution facilities within Asia (approximately 1/4th of which are on owned
property or long duration term grants). The Company has property rights and permits
for the ongoing operation of its pipeline systems in China, Korea, Taiwan, Malaysia,
Singapore and Indonesia. Management and sales support for this business segment
is based in Shanghai, China and Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia, and in approximately
seven leased office locations throughout the region.

Corporate and other

The Company's Gardner Cryogenic business operates at facilities in Pennsylvania

and Kansas in the United States and in France. The LNG business has owned
manufacturing facilities in Pennsylvania and Florida in the United States with
management, engineering and sales support based in the Trexlertown offices and a
leased office.

The Company competes with Air Liquide S.A., Linde AG, and Praxair, Inc.