Alaska Airlines is selling 10 of its Airbus A320s to Air Lease Corp. and later will lease 13 new Boeing 737-9 Max planes from them when they are delivered beginning in late 2021.
The A320 aircraft "are not in our long-term plans," according to Alaska chairman and CEO Brad Tilden, and the Max aircraft are "the most efficient narrow-body aircraft available." The new aircraft are 20 percent more fuel-efficient and generate 20 percent fewer carbon emissions with a range of 600 miles farther than the A320s, according to Alaska.
The U.S. Federal Aviation Administration last week lifted its grounding order for the Max aircraft, though airlines still need to have pilot training programs approved and perform maintenance before the aircraft type can return to the skies.
Alaska plans to begin flying Max aircraft in March 2021. Besides the 13 leased aircraft, Alaska has 32 Max on order with Boeing, and the first is set for delivery in early 2021. By the summer, Alaska expects to be flying five of the aircraft type. Pilots will fly more than 50 hours and about 19,000 miles on "proving flights" before returning it to service, according to Alaska.
"I've had the opportunity to stay very close to the FAA and Boeing through the grounding and recertification of the 737 Max," Alaska VP of safety and security Max Tidwell said in a statement. "I'm very confident with all the steps the FAA and Boeing have taken and the steps we're taking at Alaska to prepare us to safely bring this aircraft into our fleet."
The sale leaves Alaska with 39 A320s in its operating fleet, in addition to 10 Airbus A321neo aircraft.