Alaska Airlines says two of the three new 737 Max 9 jets that Boeing was to deliver in 2019 have been shifted to 2020 because of the global grounding of the single aisle jets.
At the same time, Alaska disclosed that two Bombardier Q400 turboprop aircraft that were previously removed from its operating fleet "will be returning to revenue service."
"We expect these additions to occur in late 2019," the SeaTac-based airline said of the Q400s in a securities filing.
Alaska Air Group revealed the fleet update in its latest annual information form, filed with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission Tuesday.
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The SeaTac based carrier and longtime Boeing customer had previously expected three 737 Max jets to join its fleet in 2019.
Now, it offered no further information about any of delivery timelines, saying they were "based on our best estimate of the expected delivery dates."
Alaska also revealed that the airline has "cancelable purchase commitments" for 30 Airbus A320neo deliveries from 2023 through 2025.
"We could incur a loss of pre-delivery payments and credits as a cancellation fee," the airline added.
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In terms of purchase options, Alaska said it can acquire 37 additional 737 Max aircraft with deliveries from 2021 through 2024, and 30 more options on Embraer E175 aircraft with deliveries from 2021 through 2023. Alaska is using the Embraer jets for most of its flights out of Paine Field in Snohomish County to major cities in California and Arizona.
Earlier this month, the airline's top executives said their operations at the new airport were a huge success.
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By the end of this year, Alaska said it will have a total of 334 aircraft in its fleet, including 164 Boeing 737s and 72 Airbus jets in its mainline fleet, while it will have 95 other aircraft in its regional fleet.
The regional fleet operated by its Horizon Air unit includes 33 Q400s, 30 Embraer E175s operated by Horizon and 32 E175s operated by its partner Sky West.
Alaska said its aircraft purchase commitments for the rest of 2019 total $255 million, with aircraft spending commitments for another $542 million in 2020.
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