Alaska Air Group has just announced its biggest aircraft order in history. I don’t think there’s anything hugely surprising here, but it still represents some major growth, and in particular, shows a focus on larger aircraft.
Alaska places biggest aircraft order in history
Alaska Airlines has just placed an order for up to 145 Boeing aircraft, including 110 firm orders and 35 options. Specifically:
- The airline has placed a firm order for 105 Boeing 737 MAX 10s, with options for an additional 35 planes; the airline has the option to convert these orders into the smaller variants at a later date, including the 737 MAX 8 and 737 MAX 9 (keep in mind that the 737 MAX 10 hasn’t yet been certified, so…)
- The airline has placed a firm order for five Boeing 787-10s, representing the exercising of previous options; there were reports of this in September 2025, but it’s only now being officially announced
This order extends Alaska’s aircraft delivery stream all the way through 2035, and it means the airline now has 245 Boeing aircraft on order. Alaska Air Group currently has a fleet of 413 aircraft, and the plan is to operate 475 aircraft by 2030, and more than 550 aircraft by 2035.
All of these planes will join the Alaska fleet, while Hawaiian’s fleet will continue to consist of Airbus A330s, Airbus A321neos, and Boeing 717s.
Here’s how Alaska CEO Ben Minicucci describes this Boeing aircraft order:
“This fleet investment builds on the strong foundation Alaska has created to support steady, scalable and sustained growth, and is another building block in executing our Alaska Accelerate strategic plan. These planes will fuel our expansion to more destinations across the globe and ensure our guests travel aboard the newest, most fuel-efficient and state-of-the-art aircraft. We are incredibly proud to be partnering with Boeing, a Pacific Northwest neighbor and a company that stands as a symbol of American innovation and manufacturing.”
My take on Alaska’s latest Boeing aircraft order
I don’t think there’s anything too surprising with this aircraft order. Alaska loves Boeing, its hometown aircraft manufacturer, so ordering more 737 MAXs and 787s isn’t too surprising. I think two things about this order are worth highlighting.
First of all, Alaska is still being conservative with its long haul growth, and “only” has 17 Dreamliners on order. I don’t think that’s too surprising, as it’s generally a conservative airline. That being said, in a parallel universe, I could see Alaska going all-in on becoming a global player, and greatly expanding its Dreamliner fleet.
I think what’s most interesting is to see Alaska continuing to go for larger variants of the 737:
- Historically, Alaska has primarily operated the 737-800 and 737-900, with more of a focus on the 737-900
- As Alaska refreshes its fleet with 737 MAXs, the airline has been much more focused on the 737 MAX 9 than the 737 MAX 8, as obviously the airline sees value in operating bigger planes with lower unit costs
- The 737 MAX 10 (which hasn’t yet been certified) is larger than any existing 737 variant, and that will greatly help Alaska’s unit costs
With Alaska moving to larger 737 variants, one wonders if we could eventually see the airline use the extra space on the plane to install flat beds, to be more competitive in some markets. That would be awesome, but who knows…
Bottom line
Alaska Airlines has just placed its biggest aircraft order in history, with firm orders for 105 737 MAX 10s, plus five 787-10s. These planes will be delivered through 2035.
The 787-10 is the largest variant of the 787, and complements the existing 787-9s the company has (which are being transfered from Hawaiian to Alaska). Meanwhile the 737 MAX 10 is the largest variant of the 737, which hasn’t yet been certified.
It’s noteworthy that the airline plans to go from the present fleet of 413 aircraft, to a fleet of 550 aircraft by 2035. That says nothing of the fact that the average capacity per plane will be much higher in 2035 than it is now.
What do you make of Alaska’s big Boeing aircraft order?
