Alaska to Take First 737 MAX Delivery - First Flights in March 2021
Mar 27, 2019, 2:38 pm
#76
Join Date: Sep 2014
Location: ANC
Programs: Alaska 100k
Posts: 1,012
N215AK, the last 737-900ER AS has on order, rolled off the ramp at KRNT yesterday up to KPAE. I believe all future 737 deliveries will be MAX 9.
Apr 3, 2019, 12:53 pm
#77
Join Date: Jun 2015
Location: Seattle, WA
Programs: Alaska Airlines
Posts: 659
I just booked a pretty far out in August LAX-SEA return leg from an international trip and it looks like it is on a 737-900 MAX.
It's AS 465, noon flight out of LAX. It looks like the earliest I see it making the switch from 737-900 to 737-900 MAX is on Tuesday July 16th. The flight isn't showing up on Monday the 15th and on the previous Sunday it's still a standard 737-900. Looks like they're taking "mid July" seriously, at least for planning purpose
The seating charts are kinda messed up right now. On my flight in August rows 6-9 are showing as Main instead of Premium, but row 10 and onward still show "elite & refundable".
The flight on July 16th appears to show row 6 as Main and rows 7-9 as Saver seats - and people seem to be taking advantage of it
It's AS 465, noon flight out of LAX. It looks like the earliest I see it making the switch from 737-900 to 737-900 MAX is on Tuesday July 16th. The flight isn't showing up on Monday the 15th and on the previous Sunday it's still a standard 737-900. Looks like they're taking "mid July" seriously, at least for planning purpose
The seating charts are kinda messed up right now. On my flight in August rows 6-9 are showing as Main instead of Premium, but row 10 and onward still show "elite & refundable".
The flight on July 16th appears to show row 6 as Main and rows 7-9 as Saver seats - and people seem to be taking advantage of it
Apr 3, 2019, 1:24 pm
#78
Join Date: Dec 2004
Location: SFO
Programs: BART Platinum, AA Plat Pro
Posts: 1,158
Pretty disturbing report in the WSJ today—the initial accident investigation suggests ET pilots correctly followed Boeing’s emergency procedures for MCAS malfunction and still lost the aircraft anyway due to manual trim being virtually impossible at higher air speeds.
One would hope that all tickets on a MAX will be “refundable” for the foreseeable future.
One would hope that all tickets on a MAX will be “refundable” for the foreseeable future.
Apr 3, 2019, 4:49 pm
#79
Join Date: Jun 2015
Location: Seattle, WA
Programs: Alaska Airlines
Posts: 659
Well, these flights are still quite a ways out. AS probably hasn't even taken delivery of the plane yet? Anyway, if there's any doubt I'm sure AS will do an equipment swap as the date approaches, or if I'm uncomfortable with it I'll just swap to the next flight.
Apr 3, 2019, 4:58 pm
#80
Join Date: Apr 2017
Programs: AS 100k, DL PM, New Sagaya
Posts: 1,291
Yeah, saw that article - that is not good news. I'm a Boeing fan but man they really messed up on this one.
Well, these flights are still quite a ways out. AS probably hasn't even taken delivery of the plane yet? Anyway, if there's any doubt I'm sure AS will do an equipment swap as the date approaches, or if I'm uncomfortable with it I'll just swap to the next flight.
Well, these flights are still quite a ways out. AS probably hasn't even taken delivery of the plane yet? Anyway, if there's any doubt I'm sure AS will do an equipment swap as the date approaches, or if I'm uncomfortable with it I'll just swap to the next flight.
Apr 3, 2019, 11:53 pm
#81
Join Date: Jun 2004
Location: Anchorage, AK
Programs: Lifetime AS 1MM & MVPG, AS MVPG100K, AA, DL, HH-G
Posts: 8,259
Every aircraft manufacturer has had its' problems, going back to the de Havilland DH 106 Comet and before that. I remember passing a large row of Airbus A380's parked at LAX for several months after the QF incident, with the entire fleet included. I am not apologizing for Boeing. It appears they took shortcuts not needed but they wanted to get a not ready aircraft in the air ASAP. Fixes are in the works. I just hope that proper oversight will be in place before these birds have living souls onboard again.
Last edited by BOB W; Apr 4, 2019 at 12:01 am
Apr 4, 2019, 6:12 am
#82
Join Date: Dec 2007
Location: Portland
Programs: MVPGold 75K
Posts: 494
I hope alaska sticks with proven type and orders more Airbus
May 17, 2019, 12:03 am
#83
Join Date: Mar 2014
Location: US West Coast
Programs: Alaska 100K, Hyatt Gl, Marriott Ti/LTP
Posts: 353
Looks like the new entry of service for the AS 7M9 is 8/27, flight 418 SEA-SAN departing at 7:50am. That's not from any official announcement, just me scouring the schedule after checking that it's gone from the 7/15 flights, so it's possible that it appears somewhere else earlier that I just couldn't find. Also totally possible that they'll move it again, either our or in, given that nobody really knows when MAXs will be back in the air, and when the deliveries will be back on schedule.
May 17, 2019, 10:17 am
#84
Join Date: Dec 2004
Location: SFO
Programs: BART Platinum, AA Plat Pro
Posts: 1,158
May 17, 2019, 11:34 am
#85
FlyerTalk Evangelist
Join Date: Oct 2014
Posts: 10,904
I wonder how many people will be willing to fly in this thing. At first I thought that the public wouldn't notice but there is sufficient media coverage about this that that might not be the case.
May 17, 2019, 11:55 am
#86
Join Date: Dec 2004
Location: SFO
Programs: BART Platinum, AA Plat Pro
Posts: 1,158
I certainly plan to book away for the time being when feasible, at least until it gets a couple million flights under its belt — let others be the guinea pigs, if they so choose. But given how thin the AS network is ex-SFO, I suspect I may be forced onto it at some point if I want to maintain and use my AS status.
May 17, 2019, 12:08 pm
#87
FlyerTalk Evangelist
Join Date: Oct 2014
Posts: 10,904
I certainly plan to book away for the time being when feasible, at least until it gets a couple million flights under its belt — let others be the guinea pigs, if they so choose. But given how thin the AS network is ex-SFO, I suspect I may be forced onto it at some point if I want to maintain and use my AS status.
May 17, 2019, 12:25 pm
#88
Join Date: Mar 2014
Location: US West Coast
Programs: Alaska 100K, Hyatt Gl, Marriott Ti/LTP
Posts: 353
You mean the UA that already has 14 7M9s, comprising over 2% of their mainline narrowbody fleet? Alaska won't reach that percentage until well into 2020, when UA will have even more of them.
May 17, 2019, 12:36 pm
#89
FlyerTalk Evangelist
Join Date: Oct 2014
Posts: 10,904
I only expect this to be a problem for a couple more years. By then I expect there to have been a few more incidents and this plane will be grounded for good.
May 17, 2019, 12:39 pm
#90
Join Date: Mar 2014
Location: US West Coast
Programs: Alaska 100K, Hyatt Gl, Marriott Ti/LTP
Posts: 353