Alaska Airlines takes first B737 MAX 9

Alaska Airlines (AS, Seattle Tacoma Int’l) became the first airline to take its maiden B737 MAX after the type’s ungrounding in November 2020, although it does not plan to commence its operations before March 1, 2021. B737-9 N913AK (msn 44079) was ferried from Seattle Boeing Field to Seattle Tacoma Int’l on January 24, 2021. Alaska Airlines plans to deploy its first B737-9 on March 1 with daily flights between Seattle and San Diego Int’l and Los Angeles Int’l. The airline’s second B737-9 is expected to enter service later in March. By the peak of the summer season, Alaska Airlines hopes to operate six B737-9s. Following a restructuring of its Boeing order book, Alaska Airlines currently has sixty-eight B737 MAX 9s on firm order, including 55 directly from the manufacturer and thirteen from a lessor. The airline is scheduled to receive 13 aircraft this year, 30 in 2022, 13 in 2023, and 12 in 2024. It also has options for a further 52 units due for potential delivery between 2023 and 2026. Alaska Airlines plans to use the B737 MAX 9s to replace its remaining fifty-one A320-200s inherited from Virgin America (VX, San Francisco, CA). Its mainline fleet will then be almost entirely based on the B737 Family, except for ten A321-200Ns, also received through an order placed by Virgin America. Alaska Airlines is now the fourth US carrier with B737 MAX aircraft in its fleet, after American Airlines, United Airlines, and Southwest Airlines. Out of the major carriers, only Delta Air Lines and Hawaiian Airlines have not ordered any MAX aircraft from Boeing.