Alaska Airlines announces fleet expansion

Expecting an increase in demand post-COVID and planning new international destinations has prompted Alaska Airlines to place orders for additional aircraft. The airline will add seventeen ERJ175s and converted options for thirteen B737MAX9s into firm orders.

Nine ERJ175s will be operated by subsidiary Horizon Air and eight by partner SkyWest. Horizon expects delivery of the ERJs in 2022 (five) and 2023 (four). The eight that will be operated by SkyWest will start flying in 2022. The ERJs for Horizon are newly built and ordered aircraft, while it's currently unclear if the eight from SkyWest are newly built or ones that the airline already has on order with Embraer. Once delivered, Alaska Airlines regional fleet will consist of 111 aircraft: 71 at Horizon and 40 at SkyWest. 

The additional thirteen B737-9s are expected to arrive in 2023 (nine) and 2024 (four). In total, Alaska Airlines has now ordered 81 B737-9s which should all be delivered by 2026. So far it has taken delivery of four B737-9s.

Illustration by Alaska Airlines.