Alaska rebounds after taking $150m hit from 737 Max 9 grounding

US carrier Alaska Airlines estimates the grounding of its Boeing 737 Max 9s following the 5 January door plug blow-out on flight 1282 resulted in lost profits of at least $150m. However, the carrier disclosed in a 12 March filing with the US Securities and Exchange Commission that its Q1 performance ”is now on track to exceed the expectations we held coming into the year”. ”Those expectations for improved Q1 results were driven by strategic network adjustments implemented by our commercial teams, and further supported by strong demand in the quarter,” says the Seattle-headquartered carrier. Alaska says it would have seen a year-on-year profit improvement of 30% in Q1 absent the Max 9 grounding. It has received compensation from Boeing, which will be reflected in its Q1 earnings report. ”Given recent strength in demand through spring break travel periods and continued recovery of West Coast business travel, we now expect an even greater year-over-year improvement in Q1 2024 profitability,” it says. Alaska stands to be impacted throughout 2024 by Boeing’s ongoing quality and production issues, which have resonated throughout the airline industry and badly delayed 737 Max deliveries for rival US carriers such as Southwest Airlines and United Airlines. “Full-year capacity expectations are still in flux due to uncertainty around the timing of aircraft deliveries as a result of increased Federal Aviation Administration and Department of Justice scrutiny on Boeing and its operations,” it says. Alaska holds 80 unfilled orders for 737 Max jets, including 43 orders for the still-uncertificated Max 10, Cirium fleets data show. <br/>