LONDON – Alaska Airlines has today announced a reorganization of its Boeing 737 MAX orders to include the MAX 10 and MAX 8 aircraft.
According to the airline, this “will enhance Alaska’s ability to meet specific market requirements with optimal aircraft size and capability.”
Expanding more on this was Nat Pieper, the Senior VP of Fleet, Finance, and Alliances at Alaska Airlines:
“We’re excited to add these new 737 models to our fleet and continue our up-gauging strategy, which maximizes our revenue opportunity with more seats while reducing unit costs”.
“This announcement is a further step in our drive toward a single fleet featuring Boeing aircraft and CFM engines – we are very appreciative of their partnerships.”
The adjustment is based on the 145-strong order that it has for the MAX 9 scheduled for delivery between 2021-2026.
14 MAX 9s are already in the Alaska fleet, with 131 still to be delivered, with 79 being firm orders and 52 being options.
The following breakdown of the 145 units is as follows:
- 60 737 MAX 10s.
- 70 737 MAX 9s.
- 15 737 MAX 8s.
With this in mind, Alaska will take delivery of the first MAX 8 in 2H23 and the first MAX 10s in early 2024.
Such utilization will see Alaska further replacing its Airbus A320 fleet.