Airlines Alaska Airlines finalizes 737 MAX deal and joins oneworld

U.S.-American carrier Alaska Airlines has taken two new steps in changing its business strategy. The carrier and aircraft manufacturer Boeing firstly announced the completion of a purchase agreement for 737 MAX aircraft and secondly, oneworld alliance confirmed the successful joining of the airline.

Firstly announced in December of last year, Alaska Airlines has now finalized the order with Boeing over 23 Boeing 737-9 aircraft and 15 purchase options for the MAX variant. With this latest agreement, the airline´s order book stands at 120 airframes, when options and lease commitments are included.

The airline seeks to modernize its fleet and sees in Boeing the right partner for this step. In December, the airline´s group CEO Brad Tilden commented: “We believe in this airplane, we believe in our strong partnership with Boeing, and we believe in the future of Alaska Airlines and the incredible opportunities ahead as we climb our way out of this pandemic.“

After Alaska took over Virgin America in 2018, the carrier had to integrate the Airbus A320 Family aircraft into the previous all-Boeing fleet. The current order book shows, that Alaska seeks to return to this unified fleet again.

Next to the confirmed fleet transformation, Alaska was also able to recently announce its joining into the oneworld alliance. In February 2020, the airline announced intention to join the airline alliance and has now officially joined.

“Joining oneworld is joining a family of the best airlines in the world,” said Ben Minicucci, Alaska's CEO. “Being a part of the alliance allows us to provide fantastic global connectivity, a seamless travel experience and more valuable loyalty offerings for our guests. This alliance transforms Alaska into a truly global airline, connecting our strong West Coast network and destinations across North America with the worldwide reach of our oneworld partners.”

A virtual celebration was held over this course in Seattle, the airline´s hometown. By joining the alliance, Alaska Airlines will benefit from new partnerships of network airlines and further business ventures.

International bookings will become more easier for customers, as the airline has now added seven new airline partners Iberia, Malaysia Airlines, Qatar Airways, Royal Air Maroc, Royal Jordanian, S7 Airlines and SriLankan Airlines.