Last edit by: isaacchambers
All Airbus operations have now ended with Alaska Airlines.
This Wiki will be updated periodically with status of former frames with new owners or sadly scrapped.
Summary of Reconfiguration Project: (see below for specific breakdown by aircraft tail number)
This Wiki will be updated periodically with status of former frames with new owners or sadly scrapped.
Summary of Reconfiguration Project: (see below for specific breakdown by aircraft tail number)
- 319 - None were reconfigured due to pandemic and subsequent fleet withdrawal. All were scrapped / transferred as of June 17, 2022.
- 320 - All but 7 aircraft were reconfigured. [F8W12Y126 -> F12W24Y114], all were withdrawn from the fleet as of January 10, 2023.
- 321neo - All were reconfigured (7 total, 3 delivered in the new interior from Airbus, completed as of January 3, 2020). [F8W18Y159 -> F16W24Y150], all were withdrawn from the fleet as of September 30 2023,.
- All aircraft were repainted into AS livery being complete on June 2, 2019.
Legend:
Bold indicates aircraft has been reconfigured
Airbus A319 - ALL TRANSFERRED/SCRAPPED
N521VA 521 (let there be flight) [MZJ 09/18/21 - scrapped]
N522VA 522 (the 1-year old virgin) [MZJ 10/28/21 - scrapped, you can purchase planetags of this aircraft]
N523VA 523 (contents may be under pressure) [MZJ 03/08/2022 - scrapped]
N524VA 524 (dark horse) [MCI 6/9/2022 - scrapped]
N525VA 525 (virgin & tonic) [P08 - 3/17/2022 - scrapped]
N526VA 526 (jane) [P08 - 12/13/2022 - scrapped]
N527VA 527 (tubular belle) [P08 - 06/27/2023 - scrapped]]
N528VA 528 (fog cutter) [ transferred to Braathens Interantional Airways SE-RGC]
N529VA 529 (moodlights, camera, action) [P08 - 10/21/2022 - scrapped]
N530VA 530 (gogo dancer) [MCI 6/17/2022 - scrapped]
Airbus A320 - [13 - 320s remaining to be transferred to other operators]
N361VA 361 (jersey girl) [stored GSO - 1/11/2023]
N362VA 362 (spotifly) [stored OAK 7/29, sold to ALC Feb 2021, ferried to PAE 04/29/22, transferred to Allegiant]
N363VA 363 (sky surfer) [stored OAK 8/6, sold to ALC Feb 2021, transferred to Allegiant]
N364VA 364 (lady boss) [stored GSO 4/28/2022, transferred to Allegiant]
N365VA 365 (airbnb force one) [stored GSO 3/21, sold to ALC Feb 2021, transferred to Allegiant]
N621VA 621 (air colbert) [returned to lessor GSO 11/20 - to Volotea Airlines as EC-NNZ 1/21]
N622VA 622 (california dreaming)[stored GSO 7/8 - Lease return to VCV 3/8/21 - to Allegiant 3/23/21]
Bold indicates aircraft has been reconfigured
Airbus A319 - ALL TRANSFERRED/SCRAPPED
Airbus A320 - [13 - 320s remaining to be transferred to other operators]
N629VA 629 (midnight ride) [stored AMA, 12/27/2023]
Airbus A320 ETOPS - All Transferred to Allegiant
Airbus A321NEO - All Transferred to American Airlines
Airbus A319/20/21N Reconfiguration/Retirements Tracking Thread
#556
Join Date: Dec 2017
Posts: 487
If anyone flies on the reconfigured tails anytime soon, could you kindly take a few pictures of the various moodlighting scenes they use? AS has always been really inconsistent with the lighting they use during boarding, deplaning, cruise, etc with the sky interior. Ive seen pictures that suggest the inconsistency has carried over the to the reconfiged airbus fleet. I think they can Independently set blue or white for ceiling lights and blue or white for the sidewalls lights. I personally enjoy the blue lighting
#557
Join Date: Jan 2019
Posts: 116
Yeah, they're less than 20% of the way through the airbus fleet at this point. At this rate, early 2020 seems ambitious.
I wonder if the delays with the MAX will impact the reconfiguration schedule? Maybe they were counting on having a couple of those planes starting next month to allow more swap outs and speed up the schedule this summer?
I wonder if the delays with the MAX will impact the reconfiguration schedule? Maybe they were counting on having a couple of those planes starting next month to allow more swap outs and speed up the schedule this summer?
#558
Join Date: Jan 2019
Posts: 116
If anyone flies on the reconfigured tails anytime soon, could you kindly take a few pictures of the various moodlighting scenes they use? AS has always been really inconsistent with the lighting they use during boarding, deplaning, cruise, etc with the sky interior. Ive seen pictures that suggest the inconsistency has carried over the to the reconfiged airbus fleet. I think they can Independently set blue or white for ceiling lights and blue or white for the sidewalls lights. I personally enjoy the blue lighting
So far, the mood lighting that Ive seen so far has always been either white while boarding/deplaning or blue when in flight on what Ive seen on both the reconfigured Airbus and Boeing interiors. Ive only flown a Boeing Sky Interior with Alaska once before, and it was always blue mood lighting. I thought Alaska would try and be like VX and do multi-color mood lighting. Blue and green wouldve been perfect.
#559
Join Date: Dec 2017
Posts: 487
Maybe. If they still had ownership of the 737-400s and the eight 737-700s that were retired for who knows what reason (the ones that were werent even the oldest ones in the fleet), I would imagine those would be temporarily reintroduced to supplement the Airbus fleet as it goes mods. That is if the reason for the snail pace for the mods is because of a lack of fleet supplementation. I just wish AS would actually keep the consumers and enthusiasts up to date on their long-term plans and expected completion dates; theyve been awfully quiet and vague about the VX merger not just for the cabin mods, but also for the Airbus fleet as a whole.
#560
Join Date: May 2003
Location: SFO, mostly
Posts: 2,196
This August I will be flying from PDX to LAS, and as far as scheduling goes, all nonstop flights on that route are Airbus. If I get lucky, I will be sure to provide pictures as well as a full summary of my experience. Fingers crossed! Likely going to be economy class, but upgrades are always a potential.
So far, the mood lighting that Ive seen so far has always been either white while boarding/deplaning or blue when in flight on what Ive seen on both the reconfigured Airbus and Boeing interiors. Ive only flown a Boeing Sky Interior with Alaska once before, and it was always blue mood lighting. I thought Alaska would try and be like VX and do multi-color mood lighting. Blue and green wouldve been perfect.
#561
Join Date: May 2013
Location: SEA
Programs: AS MVP Gold 100K
Posts: 2,021
while it might be disappointing to us Avgeeks, I suspect it likely has to do with posturing for the negotiations with Boeing and Airbus for their future fleet plans. Why accelerate/ even finish the cabin mods if you know youll be announcing a large 737 MAX order that will start to replace the airbus fleet in the next few years. The cabin mods arent cheap, and my thinking is until 100% solidify their fleet plans, they are taking there time. I think the slow retrofit pace could be indicative of AS returning to a mostly 737 fleet in the nearish future. Especially at the likely low price Boeing would be willing to sell them under the current environment. I wouldnt be too surprised if we see a large Alaska order for the MAX before years end, coupled with an announcement that the a319s and some a320s will have their return date accelerated and that they wont be refurbished after all. Dont be surprised if we never see a refurbished A319 if that is the case. (Purely speculation)
#562
Join Date: May 2006
Location: TUS/PDX
Programs: WN CP/A-List, AS MVPG75K
Posts: 5,798
I don't think AS knows what their long term strategy is. Angle Lake seems a little discombobulated recently. They haven't made many adjustments to routes in more than two or three months and it seems there isn't any direction. They said the plan for 2019 was to grow at 2% but haven't issued anything further than a vague "4-6%" growth down the line.
#563
Join Date: Dec 2007
Location: USA
Programs: AS MVPG75k
Posts: 330
Anyone know why N840VA was at GSO, then flown to IAD and swapped in?
https://flightaware.com/live/flight/...030Z/KGSO/KIAD
On the plane now flying back to SFO (still old interior).
Ground staff told us it was an unplanned swap and resulted in an hour delay because there was no food available.
UPDATE: seatmate (also a 75k) was upgraded to F then bumped to PE. She says she got a $400 credit for the downgrade & delay combo. Said they initially offered her 1,000 miles, which she balked at. Then they looked at her "lifetime Alaska miles flown" and told her because she is 75k AND flies so much on AS metal and not just partners, they could give her a higher certificate dollar amount. From what I've read on this forum, $400 is a new record for a withdrawn upgrade. Keeping this on topic... makes me think our swap had more to do with repositioning after repainting than some weather or mech delay, thus the higher dollar amount.
https://flightaware.com/live/flight/...030Z/KGSO/KIAD
On the plane now flying back to SFO (still old interior).
Ground staff told us it was an unplanned swap and resulted in an hour delay because there was no food available.
UPDATE: seatmate (also a 75k) was upgraded to F then bumped to PE. She says she got a $400 credit for the downgrade & delay combo. Said they initially offered her 1,000 miles, which she balked at. Then they looked at her "lifetime Alaska miles flown" and told her because she is 75k AND flies so much on AS metal and not just partners, they could give her a higher certificate dollar amount. From what I've read on this forum, $400 is a new record for a withdrawn upgrade. Keeping this on topic... makes me think our swap had more to do with repositioning after repainting than some weather or mech delay, thus the higher dollar amount.
Last edited by jjmadison; Jun 27, 2019 at 1:11 am
#564
Join Date: Nov 2005
Location: Portland, OR
Programs: Alaska Gold 100k
Posts: 958
The annoying part is for most of my future flights they are now on 320/319 aircraft and as a Gold if I choose exit rows and if the plane is switched to a new configuration, I lose the PE seat. If I book row 7 or so and it’s not a new interior on flight day, then I don’t get a PE seat. I wish there was a way to know other than checking 2-3 days out and hoping there are empty non-middle PE seats.
#566
Join Date: May 2003
Location: SFO, mostly
Posts: 2,196
Just speculation, but given the continuing delays in the 737Max entry to service (first AS Max was originally supposed to fly in July, IIRC), I could understand if AS chose to suspend cabin mods during the peak of the summer season. It also seems like the last two A321neos are taking quite a while to get ready for service, so that could result in fewer airframes in service than anticipated.
#567
Join Date: Dec 2017
Posts: 487
Just speculation, but given the continuing delays in the 737Max entry to service (first AS Max was originally supposed to fly in July, IIRC), I could understand if AS chose to suspend cabin mods during the peak of the summer season. It also seems like the last two A321neos are taking quite a while to get ready for service, so that could result in fewer airframes in service than anticipated.
#568
Join Date: Dec 2010
Location: SFO
Programs: AS MVP Gold / Marriott Bonvoy(age) Titanium Elite, IHG Platinum, WN A+/CP, Hilton Diamond
Posts: 337
Despite what others are speculating in terms of greater MAX orders.....i think its about the lack of spare aircraft that is stopping the modifications to provide more aircraft available during the peak July travel. I do not see an accelerated airbus exit for MAX airframes given the current MAX certification uncertainty. I actually see an extension of the current leases and even keeping the 320neo orders firm as we keep delaying MAX recertification. Then, there is a publicity problem after that.....will AS want to try to convince more of its customers that the aircraft is safe by doubling down on another order of the MAX? I dont think thats wise...i think fleet diversity suddenly is helping and shows risk mitigation despite the additional costs of two fleet types (or at least mainline).
Besides....i like the VX interior anyway!
Besides....i like the VX interior anyway!
#569
Join Date: Jun 2015
Location: Seattle, WA
Programs: Alaska Airlines
Posts: 658
The annoying part is for most of my future flights they are now on 320/319 aircraft and as a Gold if I choose exit rows and if the plane is switched to a new configuration, I lose the PE seat. If I book row 7 or so and its not a new interior on flight day, then I dont get a PE seat. I wish there was a way to know other than checking 2-3 days out and hoping there are empty non-middle PE seats.
I've been checking periodically to make sure there's not a reconfig or a plane swap to a 737... although if either happens I'll have a better shot at an upgrade. There's just too few seats on the airbus fleet.
#570
Join Date: Jan 2019
Posts: 116
While I myself also prefer the VX interior, AS isnt really doing their part and maintaining the older interiors. Both of my flights on the VX interiors (N843VA and N526VA) last year had numerous problems with the first class seats. While Id imagine the select A321neos with the newer VX first class seats likely do not have this problem, its not likely Ill be on one. My flights to Vegas will be on an A319 and A320 in economy, so Ill have the chance to see what VX economy is like.