Alaska Airlines Orders 105 Boeing 737-10s, Five 787s, In Push For Scale

Alaska Airlines has placed its largest-ever aircraft order, fueling future expansion with 105 Boeing 737-10s and five 787-10s in a continued bid to gain scale, a little over two years since announcing a merger with Hawaiian Airlines.

Its order includes options for another 35 of the yet-to-be-certified 737-10, a variant Alaska will use both for growth and to replace aging 737NGs. Exercising all its existing 787 options, the five additional widebodies will grow its future fleet to 17 of the type, enabling Alaska to expand long-haul service to and from Europe and Asia as it builds a global gateway in Seattle.

The carrier intends to serve “at least” 12 long-haul international destinations from the hub by 2030.

Marking the record-breaking order alongside officials from Boeing and the U.S. Transportation Department, Alaska also unveiled its first 787-9 to feature a new “global livery,” one that comes “as we transform into the country’s fourth-largest global airline,” said CEO Ben Minicucci, calling the design “a reflection of our bold vision for international growth.”

Alaska now expects to grow the fleet to more than 475 aircraft by 2030, and more than 550 by 2035—up from the 413 aircraft Alaska Air Group’s carriers operate today. The order was announced Jan. 7 and extends Alaska’s delivery stream through 2035. Its purchase brings the carrier’s 737 MAX order book to 174 aircraft.

“This is a historic airplane order underwritten by Alaska Airlines’ record of strong performance and strategic expansion,” Boeing Commercial Airplanes CEO Stephanie Pope said.

Alaska currently operates 94 MAX aircraft, a mix of -8s and -9s. In its order for the MAX 10, the carrier noted that it “retains the flexibility to adjust to a different model if necessary.” Boeing has projected that certification for the type could come “later” in 2026.

Alaska announced the order two days after unveiling a $600 million, five-year investment plan for Hawaiian Airlines, one touching fleet, infrastructure and technology in pursuit of an elevated customer experience. Both recent moves are positioned to support the company’s three-year strategic plan, which aims to deliver $1 billion in incremental profit and earnings per share of at least $10, by 2027, on results from the combined operations.

Alaska announced its acquisition of Hawaiian in December 2023, achieving a single operating certificate in fall 2025. The merger gave Alaska access to Hawaiian’s existing orderbook of 787s and was positioned as an opportunity to create a stronger competitor to larger network carriers. Cumulatively, the Big Four U.S. airlines have a domestic capacity share of approximately 78%, according to data from CAPA for the month of January.

Alaska Air Group’s new order also falls two years—nearly to the day—from the January 2024 737-9 door plug blowout on Alaska Flight 1282, an incident that grounded certain models of the variant for weeks. Afterwards, Boeing’s monthly production rates were capped amidst enhanced regulatory oversight. In fall 2025, Boeing received approval to increase 737 MAX production to 42 per month, up from 38. The airframer has so far produced 13 737-10s, according to the Aviation Week Network Fleet Discovery database.

“This fleet investment builds on the strong foundation Alaska has created to support steady, scalable and sustained growth, and is another building block in executing our Alaska Accelerate strategic plan,” Minicucci said. “These planes will fuel our expansion to more destinations across the globe and ensure our guests travel aboard the newest, most fuel-efficient and state-of-the-art aircraft.”