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Key Takeaways
- Alaska Airlines has ordered more than 100 planes from Boeing, in the airline’s largest-ever order.
- The planes will serve as a combination of replacements for aging aircraft and new planes to expand Alaska Airlines’ fleet.
Boeing just got a big vote of confidence from a longtime customer.
Alaska Airlines (ALK) announced its largest order ever, ordering 110 planes from Boeing (BA) over the next several years. The airline ordered 105 Boeing 737-10 planes, which have yet to be certified by federal air travel regulators, along with five new 787 Dreamliner aircraft, a wide-body plane designed for international flights.
The planes will serve as a mix of replacements for older Alaska Airlines aircraft, and new planes that will grow the airline’s fleet. Alaska Airlines said the order “secures critical delivery slots and extends the aircraft delivery stream through 2035.”
Alaska Airlines’ order includes options for another 35 737-10 planes that can be exercised within the same delivery timeframe. By the end of the delivery timeframe in 2035, Alaska Airlines said its total fleet will grow to 550 planes from its current 413 aircraft.
Alaska Airlines expects the 737-10 to be approved by the Federal Aviation Administration this year, and start being delivered to the airline in 2027, senior vice president of fleet, revenue products, and real estate Shane Jones told CNBC.
In its last quarterly report in September, Boeing said its order backlog had grown to more than 5,900 commercial airplanes, worth $636 billion.
Alaska Airlines shares were down slightly in recent trading, while Boeing shares gained 0.5%. In the last 12 months, the stocks have moved in opposite directions, with Alaska Airlines shares losing nearly a quarter of their value and Boeing shares rising more than 30%.
