Alaska Airlines Adds Boeing 737 MAX 8 To Fleet

I think there are two big reasons why WN has chosen not to order the two larger variants of the 737 MAX. There isn't a big need for additional onboard real estate if you aren't carving the cabin up in to different seating densities. Southwest has probably come to the conclusion that anything larger than the 800 isn't going to work well with open seating.

This is very good for Alaska to focus on the higher gauge Max aircraft. I anticipate this fleet will be focused on continuing to expand Seattle with the Caribbean and San Diego with east coast cities (think Raleigh and Nashville)

It is very logical for Southwest to use the Max 7 for many of their routes because of their unique focus city network that is not optimized for connections, and only requires 3 FA's.

At the same time, it is a missed opportunity for Southwest to take delivery of the Max 8. They should have gone with the Max 9 because they don't need to worry about range, they mostly operate short flights.

One thing to also take into consideration is the congestion at SeaTac. The infrastructure there can only handle so many more aircrafts so up sizing while updating the fleet is possibly what AS is thinking in addition to what you mentioned above about marginal costs.

Happy to be wrong, but I think the WN reason has a lot to do with their pilot union. The union dictates in their contract the number of allowed seats on a plane and the max 9 and max 10 aren’t covered in current language so WN would have to negotiate it, right?
Remember the ordeal it was a few years ago when the union claimed WN had to renegotiate just to fly the max, at all, vs the NG

Separate, someone smarter may know, but WN has some hubs where the 9 and 10 would be tricky to get off the ground, primarily MDW (maybe Love too?)

Ethiopian Airlines had a problem with the 737 Max! Has that been fixed?

The -9(00)s would be performance limited, but one of the primary reasons that the -10 features the all-new levered landing gear structure, is to allow for similar runway performance to an -8 (without the optional STOL package).

And while I've never heard it from an official source, the oft-stated reason that WN is cold on the -10, at least for now, is that they can only fit 25 additional seats over the -8(00)s without having to staff a 5th flight attendant.

I dunno how much credence I give to that, as there's only a 32 seat difference between the -700 and -800, with the latter requiring an additional F/A, but that didn't stop WN from ordering it.

So who knows.

The whole reason to go with a single aircraft "group" (i.e.: 737s) is -- I would. think -- compatibility and interchangeability. That is, parts and both air- and ground crew can work in all aircraft. (No requirement to be certified on both 737s and A320s.)

In that regard, Alaska's policy of acquiring additional but different variants makes sense. OTOH, if the -10 has different landing gear structure (and presumably different parts), is it worth gaining 12 seats if one needs to stock additional parts just for one type of aircraft?

Then again, I prefer Airbus for narrow bodies and Boeing for wide bodies, so what do I know...

Max10s may be delayed further due to the current controversy over the engine deicing mechanism, and the waiver Boeing is pushing for.

Whether FAA will grant that remains to be seen.

Interesting to read this article written one day before an Alaska Airlines MAX 9 (that was only a month old) had an exit door detach mid-flight, forcing an emergency landing… And scaring the shit out of 177 passengers. Hard to shake the feeling that something is seriously wrong at Boeing.