* Alaska Air ( ALK ) hopeful on restoring guidance if fuel prices

stabilize

* CFO sees higher fares offsetting most of fuel hit in

second half

* Corporate bookings up 20%-30%; summer demand remains

strong

By Rajesh Kumar Singh

RIO DE JANEIRO, June 6 (Reuters) - Alaska Air Group ( ALK )

is hopeful it can reinstate its financial guidance on its

second-quarter earnings call if fuel prices show more stability,

Chief Financial Officer Shane Tackett told Reuters on Saturday,

after volatility in jet fuel costs forced the carrier to pull

its full-year outlook.

Tackett said fuel markets had become less volatile in recent

weeks, but prices were still moving by about 5% over a couple of

days, making Alaska unwilling to restore guidance until it has

more confidence in the outlook.

"We want to see a little bit more stability in the

backdrop," Tackett said on the sidelines of the International

Air Transport Association's annual meeting in Rio de Janeiro.

The carrier expects a tougher second quarter than it had

anticipated before the latest fuel shock, but Tackett said

higher fares and resilient demand should help offset most of the

hit in the second half. He said operating cash burn could fall

to zero or turn slightly positive in the second half of the

year.

Alaska borrowed $1 billion recently, split between secured

and unsecured debt, but Tackett said the company was not

planning another liquidity move or a rollback in capital

spending.

Corporate bookings over the next 90 days are up 20% to 30%

from a year earlier across most geographies and industries, he

said.

Tackett said Alaska is also working with energy companies to

source more jet fuel for the West Coast from markets such as

Singapore, as refining margins in its core geographies remain

elevated.

He said the carrier had no current plan to retire Hawaiian's

Airbus A330s or A321s and expects to be an Airbus operator "for

a long time."