Alaska Air CEO William Ayer’s 2009 total compensation of $4.3M more than double 2008 amount

Alaska Air CEO ‘09 pay more than doubled from ‘08

ATLANTA — The chairman and chief executive officer of Alaska Air Group Inc., William S. Ayer, saw his total compensation in 2009 more than double to $4.3 million, compared to the year before, thanks to a bigger performance-based bonus and much larger stock and option awards, according to a regulatory filing.

According to an analysis of the filing late Friday with the Securities and Exchange Commission, Ayer, 55, received a salary of $373,846, no bonus, a performance-based bonus of $621,585 and other compensation of $78,424.

Ayer also received stock and option awards the company valued at $3,224,953 on the day they were granted.

The company did not break out any above-market returns on deferred compensation, reporting instead the total earnings on deferred compensation. However, a spokeswoman said Monday that Ayer did not receive any above-market returns on deferred compensation.

The total compensation of $4,298,808 compared to the $1,581,007 he received the year before.

The Associated Press’s total pay calculations include executives’ salary, bonus, incentives, perks, above-market returns on deferred compensation and the estimated value of stock options and awards granted during the year. The calculations don’t include changes in the present value of pension benefits, and they sometimes differ from the totals companies list in the summary compensation table of proxy statements filed with the SEC.

Alaska Air Group, based in Seattle, operates Alaska Airlines and Horizon Air. It reported full-year 2009 net income of $121.6 million, or $3.36 a share, compared to a net loss of $135.9 million, or $3.74 a share, in 2008. Twelve-month revenue fell to $3.40 billion from $3.66 billion in 2008.

Its annual meeting of stockholders is set for May 18 in Seattle.

Alaska Air shares rose 23 cents to close at $40.79 in Monday trading. During the fourth quarter of 2009, its shares rose more than 35 percent.