Alaska Airlines on Jan. 25 took delivery of its first Boeing 737 MAX jet, as it prepares to inaugurate passenger service utilizing the model beginning March 1.
Boeing handed over 24 737 MAXs from its stored inventory in December 2020 but lost customers for nearly as many already-built aircraft, an Aviation Week analysis shows.
Alaska Airlines reached an agreement in principle with Boeing to take as many as 120 new 737-9 jets in coming years, marking the first sale of a MAX aircraft to a U.S.-based customer since the type was grounded nearly two years ago.
Joining the oneworld alliance became necessary for Alaska Airlines, which long took pride in its independence, to give its customers access to the kind of network scale that matches competitors’ offerings in major markets such as Seattle (SEA) and Los Angeles (LAX), according to CEO Brad Tilden.
American Airlines shocked the commercial aviation industry earlier this year when it announced back-to-back partnerships with Alaska Airlines and JetBlue Airways.
Alaska Airlines agreed to lease 13 new Boeing 737-9s from Air Lease Corporation (ALC), providing a vote of confidence in Boeing less than a week after the FAA rescinded its grounding of the 737 MAX family.
Alaska Airlines CEO Brad Tilden will retire in March 2021, with current Alaska president Ben Minicucci selected to succeed him as chief executive, the company announced Nov. 9.
Routes analyzes some of the services returning as well as new routes being launched. This week: RwandAir swaps Gatwick for Heathrow, Ukraine International Airlines returns to New York via Iceland, and Alaska Airlines adds another sun route from Los Angeles.
Alaska Airlines sees its 2020 third-quarter (Q3) capacity improving to half of its corresponding 2019 level, incrementally restoring flights while other U.S. carriers trim their schedules.