SEATTLE -- Alaska Air Group paid almost $54 million in annual bonuses Wednesday to nearly all of its 12,800 employees for exceeding the company's 2011 operational and financial goals.

The bonus amounts to nearly 7 percent of annual pay or more than three weeks' salary for most workers.

Nearly $33 million or 61 percent of the total goes to Alaska Airlines and Horizon Air employees in the Puget Sound area. Nearly $8 million goes to employees in Portland and more than $5 million to workers in Alaska.

Alaska and Horizon airlines serve 90 cities in the United States, Canada and Mexico.