Alaska Airlines Boosts Airbus A321neo Flight Hours Amid Boeing 737 MAX Delays

Alaska Airlines increases flight hours for the Airbus A321neo fleet as a measure to mitigate delays in the delivery of new Boeing 737 MAX aircraft. The A321neo aircraft belong to Hawaiian Airlines, which was recently acquired by the Seattle-based carrier.

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While both companies progress in the single operator certification process with the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA), Alaska Airlines is implementing a fleet optimization plan. This plan translates into a 25% increase in flight hours for the Boeing 787 Dreamliner and Airbus A321neo fleets, which flew more in November compared to previous months.

This process is part of its strategy to expand its network of destinations and also serves to offset a new delay in the delivery of the Boeing 737 MAX that Alaska has on order. According to Planespotters, the airline expects the arrival of eight 737 MAX 9, whose delivery schedule has been affected not only by product quality issues but also by the recent strike by workers at the U.S. manufacturer.

Recently, Alaska and Hawaiian announced that they will schedule Hawaiian’s Airbus A330-200 on new direct routes from Seattle to Tokyo and Seoul. In this way, Alaska Airlines Group strengthens Seattle as its base of operations for transpacific flights, considering that the Hawaiian carrier operates flights to Asia and Oceania from Honolulu with this aircraft.

According to our partner site AEROIN, the certification process is expected to be completed by October 2025. Until then, the two companies will continue to operate separately. Even after the integration, Alaska Air Group intends to keep both brands, which have earned customer loyalty over the years.

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Combined fleets

The current combined fleet of both companies reaches 394 aircraft, with 70 belonging to Hawaiian Airlines and 324 to Alaska Airlines. For Alaska, this would be the first time it incorporates wide-body aircraft into its fleet, unlike the Airbus A321neo, which it had already inherited from the purchase of Virgin America.

Meanwhile, Hawaiian Airlines continues to receive more Airbus A330-300 P2F, which it operates for the e-commerce company Amazon. While Alaska keeps its fleet standardized with Boeing 737 NG and MAX aircraft, Hawaiian operates three different types of aircraft: Airbus A321neo, Airbus A330-200/300, Boeing 717-200, and Boeing 787 Dreamliner.

Alaska Airlines fleet:

• 14 Boeing 737-700;
• 61 Boeing 737-800;
• 7 Boeing 737-900;
• 79 Boeing 737-900ER;
• 5 Boeing 737 MAX 8;
• 72 Boeing 737 MAX 9.

Hawaiian Airlines fleet:

• 18 Airbus A321neo;
• 24 Airbus A330-200;
• 7 Airbus A330-300P2F;
• 19 Boeing 717-200;
• 2 Boeing 787-9 Dreamliner.