Alaska Airlines has announced it is exercising options early on 12 Boeing 737-9 aircraft to be delivered in 2023 and 2024.
The addition brings the carrier's total firm 737-9 order to 93 aircraft. Five of the planes, which are configured to carry 178 guests, including 16 First Class seats and 24 Premium Class seats, are currently in service.
Monday's announcement comes nearly one year after Alaska announced a restructured agreement with Boeing in December 2020 to acquire 68 737-9 aircraft between 2021 to 2024 that included options for another 52 deliveries between 2023 and 2026. In 2021, Alaska has exercised 25 of the options, including 13 planes in May. Alaska said it will add 25 options to backfill the ones that have been exercised as part of the latest transaction.
"We are excited to accelerate Alaska's growth, building on our solid financial foundation that enabled us to weather the pandemic," Alaska Airlines senior vice president of fleet, finance and alliances, Nat Pieper said in a statement. "These aircraft are a prudent, long-term investment in our business that we can make while simultaneously maintaining our strong balance sheet."
"Boeing continues to be a terrific partner for Alaska. We began flying our first 737-9s this past spring, and we're extremely pleased with the operational, financial and environmental performance of the aircraft," added Pieper. "The planes are exceeding our expectations-from how quiet the engines run to the greater range they provide-and our guests love them."
Last week, Alaska revealed plans to launch new service from San Francisco to three new nonstop destinations in Mexico, including Loreto, Mazatlan and Ixtapa/Zihuatanejo.
For the latest travel news, updates and deals, subscribe to the daily TravelPulse newsletter.
Topics From This Article to Explore
