Alaska Airlines is heading in two directions simultaneously. First, they’re in the midst of a huge fleet modernization with Boeing 737 MAX aircraft. To date, the airline has already taken delivery of 35 MAX 9 planes and will be receiving another 150 or more MAX 8, 9, and 10’s, with deliveries in 2023, and beyond.
Alaska Airlines, founded in 1932, has flown to Hawaii for 15 years and as a company, is just three years younger than Hawaiian Airlines. Alaska now flies to 115 destinations with 1,200 daily flights, including Maui, Kona, Kauai, and Honolulu.
Alaska Airlines’ huge fleet expansion plans.
Alaska Airlines announced last month that it upped its purchase of Boeing 737 MAX by an additional 52 planes for delivery between 2024 and 2027. That will make for a confirmed MAX fleet of 146 aircraft with rights for 105 additional planes. It will ensure both fleet replacement and growth.
Read Alaska Airlines Struggles For Hawaii Travel Spot After 15 Years.
Premium Recaro seating is featured throughout the fleet.
Recaro, a renowned automotive and aircraft seating brand, and Alaska Airlines have long been partners. The company designs the business/first class seats used on Alaska Airlines in addition to the economy seats with a high seatback pocket. Recaro claims their product “increases living space for passengers and reduces seat weight by allowing for a slimmer seat design and maximizes high-density layouts… Our design engineers offer lightweight solutions while leading the way with seat quality and comfort that Alaska and their passengers have come to expect.”
Alaska Airlines said, “Since 2012, Recaro has played a leading role in helping us deliver incredible comfort, convenient features, and reliability for our guests. As we continue to deliver our new fuel-efficient 737 MAX fleet and begin to refresh our 737 NG (737-800) interiors, we are appreciative of the decade-long partnership we’ve forged with Recaro.”
Nowhere is seat comfort more important than on up to 6 hour flights to and from Hawaii.
Review: “Hacking” First Class to Hawaii On Alaska Airlines.
Boeing 737-800 Retrofit.
The aircraft we think of as synonymous with Alaska Airlines is their 737-800 and -900. The company flies 163 of these older Boeing NG (Next Generation) types, including variants -700, -800, and -900.
This week, Alaska’s Cabin Product Developer Christopher Dela Rosa shared on Twitter (below) his excitement about the new enhancements to Alaska’s fleet of 737-800 that your editors have flown umpteen times to and from Hawaii. These are the first photos we have seen.
Essentially, Alaska is porting the MAX fleet’s interior to their legacy NG fleet.
“Excited to welcome our first retrofitted 737-800 back into the @AlaskaAir fleet!
• Updated seat design
• Updated cabin dividers
• Updated bulkhead
• LED Lighting”
My favorite addition to the fleet. Seatback device holders. No more creative phone propping to enjoy our 1,000+ free movies & tv shows.”
These lighter-weight seats are more fuel efficient and reduce costs in addition to carbon emissions.
Recaro seating will adorn both business/first and economy class. The new economy class seat, the BL3520, has won awards for its design, including the red dot award for best product design and the Crystal Cabin Award. It is considered to be both lightweight yet cushy/comfortable, which many of today’s slimline seats are not.
Economy seats will have new features like a coat hook, individual cupholders, seatback netting for personal items, and the electronic holder shown above. The new headrest also features 6-way adjustability.
Excited to welcome our first retrofitted 737-800 back into the @AlaskaAir fleet!
• Updated seat design
• Updated cabin dividers
• Updated bulkhead
• LED Lighting pic.twitter.com/UTlV6XhnA5— Christopher Dela Rosa (@cjdelarosa65) November 21, 2022
Recaro seat manufacturer’s video.
The interesting short video interview below is with Recaro’s René Dankwerth, General Manager, Aircraft Seating Americas. He talks about the fascinating innovation involved in today’s airline seating.
The Recaro seats are not new to Alaska Airlines. Nor are they comfortable for very long. Just like the ill planned alliance with One World, in which maybe a handful of Alaska Air flyers will use a OW flight or lounge because not many of of us fly Aer Lingus or Iberia Airlines, but now AS upgrades and lounges are all open to them.
I honestly don’t know what AS is thinking sometimes.
Now please return to Sacramento iNternationl with direct flights to maui. You left us high and dry. We do not want to layover in Honolulu. We want direct!!
Come Back Alaska to Sacramento!! I hate Southwest!!
Hi,
We’re flying to Kauai in January 2023, will these seats be available in the main area of the plane? We always fly Alaska when available.
Thank you,
Geri
Hi Geri.
That project is just getting going, so it isn’t likely to happen in time for your January trip.
Aloha.
I’m never going to fly the max, a plane that killed 347 people due to outsourcing to programmers with zero fight experience. Then was recertified using a max variant that presently is looking not to meet a 2 yrs deadline improved safety stds.
As for the seats after flying 10 hrs koa bos I had to seek medical attention for joint pain. There is way too lil cushioning in the seats. But I get it these weigh a lot less so less fuel consumed more = more $ for CEO pay.
Just a shame they are getting rid of the safe and reliable Airbus aircraft. They will regret the decision when the Max is grounded again
Can’t wait to check out one of these new planes of Alaska Airlines. Just hope the consumer won’t have to pay for them by higher ticket prices. Prices are ridiculous enough to travel.
I too noticed the Alaska announcement. I know that no one is going to get their Max aircraft very soon. As far as I’m concerned that is a good thing. The retrofitting of the 800 looks to be very nice. Our flight on Southwest, from Oakland to Maui, was a completely sold out flight. They held our flight in Oakland for about 25 minutes awaiting a Delta flight from the east coast. I ended up sitting next to a very large guy and got to have an elbow in my rib cage most of the way over to Maui. I am surely not a fan of the Max aircraft as it is very tight. However, we are enjoying our stay in Maui.
The Max interiors are no different than a regular 737.
I fly frequently from Sacramento to Kauai and when possible I try and fly on the Hawaiian A330 wide body. Extra comfort coach seats are comfortable enough. The problem is they don’t always use that plane to and from Sacramento. The A321 I try and fly first class because coach extra comfortable is not very comfortable. I fly out of Sacramento or Oakland and I look for what I consider to be reasonably first class seats.
I sat in Recaro seats this year,SD to Boston and back on Alaska in economy and both me and my friend ( both 6 feet tall ) thought they were very uncomfortable seats. They lacked padding and felt narrow.
Anything has to be better than the current economy seats. We flew home from Maui 4 years ago and the seats were so uncomfortable I swore I would never fly Alaska again. We flew United there and had good seats . But our last trip to the Islands this February we flew United direct out of Chicago. I had paid extra for Bulkhead seats, But on our way home United switched the type of plane from a 777 to a 787 and reassigned our seats without our knowledge and was given a sardine seat across from the bathroom. I was furious and was starting to understand why there is air rage. I protested and demanded to be seated elsewhere but was told the flight was full.I asked to have a supervisor meet us at the gate in Chicago.Promised refunds and failed.
I watched both documentaries on the Max and won’t fly on them. I’ll never forget the daughter who lost her father saying the CEO of Boeing retired rich on the blood of her father. Heartbreaking.
I really like Alaska and being from Seattle they go to a lot of my destinations. But not on the Max.
I certainly hope the new seats will be more comfortable because the present seats are anything but. Even with my seat pad and lumbar support, I was extremely uncomfortable.