Alaska Airlines' maiden B737 MAX due for early delivery

Alaska Airlines (AS, Seattle Tacoma Int'l) is on track to take early delivery of its first B737 MAX aircraft. Alaska's VP - Capacity Planning, John Kirby, told FlightGlobal that unlike previous forecasts, the airline's maiden B737 MAX 8 aircraft is now likely to arrive in late 2017 as opposed to early 2018.

Alaska Airlines ordered twenty -8s and seventeen -9s from Boeing (BOE, Chicago O'Hare) in October 2012. No comment concerning the proposed delivery of the airline's maiden -9 variant has been made and therefore it is assumed to be arriving in 2019 as previously announced.