Alaska Air increases Boeing 737 controls and options to 120 to “largely” replace Airbus fleet

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Alaska Air Group Inc. ALK,
-0.86%
said Tuesday it would buy 23 more 737-9 aircraft from Boeing Co. BA,
-0.18%,
to raise the total number of orders and options for 737 MAX aircraft to 120. Boeing shares accounted for 1.8% in premarket trading and Alaska Air shares rose 1.6%. The delivery schedule for the 68 firm orders is 13 aircraft in 2021, 30 in 2022, 13 in 2023 and 12 in 2024. The airline said the aircraft will “largely replace” its Airbus SE EADSY fleet,
+ 0.04%
AIR,
+ 1.47%
planes. Alaska Air has the option to purchase an additional 52 aircraft. “We believe in this aircraft, we believe in our strong partnership with Boeing and we believe in the future of Alaska Airlines and the incredible opportunities we have as we emerge from this pandemic,” said Brad Tilden, CEO of Alaska Air. Shares of Alaska Air have risen 32.6% in the past three months, and Boeing shares have risen 39.9%, while the average Dow Jones Industrial DJIA,
-0.40%
gained 11.4%.

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