With 342 aircraft in its fleet at the time of this video’s release, Alaska Airlines as
an airline group has the fifth-largest fleet of aircraft in the United States.
This figure includes its Horizon Air subsidiary as well as jets operated by SkyWest. With this
inflated number, the airline sits above JetBlue and its 285 aircraft,
but well-below Southwest Airlines and its 735. Today, let's look at the different
aircraft used by Alaska Airlines and what direction the fleet may be headed.
Taking a broad look at the fleet flying under the Alaska Airlines banner,
the carrier operates four types of aircraft:
The Boeing 737 The Airbus A320 family
The Embraer ERJ175 And the De Havilland Canada Dash 8-400
As you can see, there is an interesting mix of aircraft, despite the fact that they are all
short and medium-haul narrowbodies. The Boeing 737 has been the core of the airline's operations
since the late 80s and early 90s and this one type accounts for nearly 57% of the fleet.
Interestingly, the Airbus jets were "inherited" from the carrier's 2016 acquisition of Virgin
America. And while the acquisition and subsequent fleet expansion provided Alaska with additional
capacity, it looks like the airline is hoping to streamline its operations and phase out the
Airbuses. Indeed, the A320s and A321s are slated to be removed from the fleet by the end of 2023,
along with the Dash 8-400s that currently fly under the Horizon Air livery. But with
that introduction out of the way, let's take a look at each type in a little more detail.
With 194 Boeing 737s flying mainline ops at this moment, Alaska Airlines has been a fairly loyal
customer for Boeing. Since both firms have a good deal of their operations in the Seattle area,
it would indeed seem wise for the two firms to build relations with one another.
This is exactly what has been going on since the 1980s.
Here are the 737 variants and their quantities as operated by Alaska Airlines:
14 (dash seven hundreds) -700s 61 -800s
12 -900s 79 -900ERs
28 MAX 9s In a fairly recent move,
the airline in March 2022 announced that it was planning to reconfigure its large 737 MAX order.
While it initially was planning to only operate the MAX 9 in terms of newer 737s, the airline
now wants a little more diversity by adding the smaller MAX 8 and 10 to the fleet as well.
The move will see Alaska exercise all of its options, bringing the fleet size to 145.
Initially, the airline had firm orders for 93 MAX 9s. However, in exercising its
options and making some adjustments, the new breakdown of the future fleet is as follows:
60 737 MAX 10s (configured with 189 seats)
70 MAX 9s (configured with 178 seats) 15 MAX 8s (configured with 163 seats)
Speaking on the decision at the time of the announcement, Alaska's Senior Vice
President of Fleet, Finance, and Alliances, Nat Pieper, offered the following statement:
"We're excited to add these new 737 models to our fleet and continue our upgauging 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 arrival of the new MAX jets will help the carrier become more efficient. At the moment,
the oldest 737s in the fleet are the airline's 14 -700s, which have an average age of 22 years.
The second oldest sub-fleet are the 12 (non-ER) -900s, which average about 20 years.
While the -700s and -900s may eventually be phased out,
the carrier plans to hold on to its 737-800s a little longer. Indeed, the airline is investing
some $20 million to refresh the 61 aircraft, which have an average age of about 14 years.
This will provide passengers with the modern amenities found on the MAX.
The carrier also operates two A320 family variants: The Airbus A320-200 and the A321neo.
The airline has 34 of the former and 10 of the latter. The A320ceos average roughly 12 years
while the neos are relatively young at just over four years of age.
As previously mentioned, the Airbus A320s were inherited from the airline's acquisition of
Virgin America, which was fully dedicated to operating the Airbus A320 family of aircraft.
While the added capacity and fleet diversity may have their advantages, the airline hopes to
be rid of the 737-rival in the next few years. Indeed, Alaska Airlines has already phased out
many A319s and A320s throughout the pandemic, with 19 retired between October 2019 and December 2021.
While not flying for Alaska, many of these jets are still in service, as eight are now flying
for Allegiant while two have been ferried across the Atlantic to fly with Spanish airline Volotea.
Speaking on the decision to phase out the remaining Airbus jets,
Airline Weekly quotes Chief Financial Officer Shane Tackett as saying:
“The quicker we could get to a single fleet, the better...One
fleet is way simpler than two fleets to operate,”
Pieper also explained in a March 24th earnings call that the airline is seeking
to replace its 32 single-class Dash 8-400s which currently fly in Horizon Air livery.
This regional airline is actually a wholly-owned subsidiary of the Alaska Airlines Group.
The replacement type will be the Embraer E175 regional jet, including 20 new E175s.
Configured with multiple classes, Alaska Airlines is hoping to capture
additional revenue from a premium leisure, multi-class seating configuration for the type.
The 72 E175s at the moment sport 12 business class seats with another 64 in economy class.
While all of the E175 aircraft fly for Alaska Airlines,
none of the jets operate with the mainline Alaska fleet. Rather, most of this fleet
are actually operated by SkyWest Airlines while the remainder operate as Horizon Air.
United, Delta, and American Airlines have also elected to work with SkyWest
(among other firms) for their regional connection needs.
A big question mark for the future of the Alaska Airlines fleet is if the Boeing 737 MAX 10 will
ever materialize. While the plan is for the first MAX 10 to join the fleet in early 2024,
regulatory approval for the type is still pending.
When it comes to the 737 MAX 10, Boeing is in a bit of a precarious situation.
Under a law passed in 2020 following the two fatal 737 MAX crashes,
Boeing must meet new cockpit alerting requirements.
However, it can avoid this requirement if it certifies new types by the end of 2022.
As the weeks go by, the timeline for the MAX points to Boeing missing the 2022 deadline.
But, as we've pointed out before, doing so would make the MAX 10
different from other models. Thus, losing commonality between the MAX 10
and other MAX models will remove one key advantage for this family of aircraft.
Boeing has been hoping to get a waiver to avoid making the changes for its stretched 737.
However, if the company doesn't get its way, CEO Dave Calhoun is apparently threatening
to cancel the 737 MAX 10 program. In an interview with Aviation Week,
Calhoun laid out his case and the challenging situation his company finds itself in:
"If you go through the things we've been through, the debts that we've had to accumulate,
our ability to respond, or willingness to see things through even a world without the MAX
10 is not that threatening...The 737-10 is a little bit of an all-or-nothing.
This is a risk I'm willing to take. If I lose the fight, I lose the fight."
At this point in time, it's difficult to know how US Congress will decide,
and whether or not Boeing will get the waiver that it so desperately wants.
With Alaska Airlines hoping to have a significant number of MAX 10 aircraft, it would be just one
of several airlines that would be impacted by Boeing's inability to meet the 2022 deadline.
Seeing as the type would be the carrier's largest cabin (in the absence of the Airbus A321neos),
Alaska would certainly have to revise its strategy of upgauging its fleet. Indeed, the carrier would
either have to get creative with MAX 9s, or else hold on to its A321neos longer than expected.
As with many airlines we've covered in this series,
Alaska Airlines looks to be an airline in the midst of a transition and modernization,
saying goodbye to its Airbus fleet, older 737s, and Dash 8s.
Unfortunately, part of its future plans rest heavily on Boeing's progress on the MAX 10 program
and whether or not the American planemaker can get special treatment from the government.
What do you think of Alaska Airlines' fleet composition
and its strategy to move toward the Boeing 737 MAX
while phasing other types out? Share your thoughts and opinions by leaving a comment!