Tag Archives: Boeing 737-9

Alaska Airlines Boeing 737-9 MAX 9 N704AL loses its door plug section mid flight, 737-9s grounded pending inspection

Alaska Airlines Boeing 737-9 MAX 9 N704AL (msn 67501) BFI (Nick Dean). Image: 961813.

Alaska Airlines flight AS1282 from Portland, OR to Ontario, CA on January 5, 2024 with the pictured Boeing 737-9 MAX 9 N704AL with 171 passengers and six crew members on board experienced an inflight emergency approximately 20 minutes into the flight.

A door plug section (utilized as a window) separated from the fuselage and crew declared an emergency and and returned to PDX for a safe landing.

Alaska Airlines issued this statement:

A statement from Alaska Airlines CEO, Ben Minicucci:

At Alaska Airlines, safety is our foundational value and the most important thing we focus on every day. Following tonight’s event on Flight 1282, we have decided to take the precautionary step of temporarily grounding our fleet of 65 Boeing 737-9 aircraft. Each aircraft will be returned to service only after completion of full maintenance and safety inspections. We anticipate all inspections will be completed in the next few days.

I am personally committed to doing everything we can to conduct this review in a timely and transparent way.

We are working with Boeing and regulators to understand what occurred tonight, and will share updates as more information is available. The NTSB is investigating this event and we will fully support their investigation.

My heart goes out to those who were on this flight – I am so sorry for what you experienced. I am so grateful for the response of our pilots and flight attendants. We have teams on the ground in Portland assisting passengers and are working to support guests who are traveling in the days ahead.

-Ben

Top Copyright Photo: Alaska Airlines Boeing 737-9 MAX 9 N704AL (msn 67501) BFI (Nick Dean). Image: 961813.

United’s pilots demand higher pay and benefits than the landmark Delta agreement

United Airlines Boeing 737-9 MAX 9 N37549 (msn 64475) BFI (Brian Worthington). Image: 960503.

United Airlines is joining other U.S. carriers coming under pressure to match or exceed the landmark contract that Delta Air Lines signed with its pilots.

United’s pilots are demanding a new contract that would exceed the Delta contract.

Alaska Airlines applauds new legislation to help drive growth in the market for Sustainable Aviation Fuel (SAF) in Washington state

Alaska Airlines Boeing 737-9 MAX 9 N973AK (msn 43346) BUR (Michael B. Ing). Image: 960473.

Alaska Airlines issued this statement:

Alaska Airlines applauds Washington state Governor Jay Inslee, and bill sponsor, State Senator Andy Billig, for the signing of new legislation to help drive growth in the market for Sustainable Aviation Fuel (SAF) in Washington state.

Investing in SAF has multilayered benefits, including the creation of family wage manufacturing jobs. Using SAF is also the most significant way we can reduce the greenhouse gas emissions of aviation over the next several decades. This legislation will help ensure that SAF is more available at a cost and scale that enables its use and continues to position Washington State as a leader on climate action.

This is a step in the right direction, and we look forward to working with public and private partners to realize its full potential.

Top Copyright Photo: Alaska Airlines Boeing 737-9 MAX 9 N973AK (msn 43346) BUR (Michael B. Ing). Image: 960473.

Alaska Airlines aircraft photo gallery:

Greater Bay Airlines announces order for 15 737-9 MAX 9 aircraft

Greater Bay Airlines (GBA) and Boeing have announced an order for 15 737-9 airplanes. The agreement also includes a commitment for five 787 Dreamliners to support GBA’s long-term plan to launch international long-haul service.

The new Hong Kong-based carrier said the 737-9 will form the backbone of its future fleet as it seeks to operate more flights between Hong Kong and major cities in Asia and Mainland China. GBA plans to leverage the 737-9’s enhanced capacity and range to lower trip costs and expand its network.

Greater Bay Airlines Boeing 737-9 MAX 9 (Boeing)

GBA is an all-Boeing carrier currently operating a fleet of three 737-800 jets with flights to four destinations, including Bangkok, Taipei, Tokyo and Seoul. The airline also plans to bring in a number of additional 737-800s to meet its expansion needs before the arrival of the 737-9.

The 737-9 is designed to seat more than 190 passengers in a two-class configuration with a range of 3,300 nautical miles, providing operators added capacity and increased profitability within their network.

Greater Bay Airlines is a Hong Kong-based carrier offering scheduled passenger and cargo services. The airline, which commenced scheduled service in July 2022, has a plan to develop an extensive network of air services to major cities in Asia and Mainland China from Hong Kong, riding on the back of the opening of the three-runway system at Hong Kong International Airport in late 2024.

How Alaska Airlines reacted to two Boeing 737 tail strikes

Alaska Airlines Boeing 737-9 MAX 9 N941AK (msn 44101) LAX (Michael B. Ing). Image: 960101.

From Mentour Pilot:

How Alaska Airlines Reacted to Two 737 Tail Strikes

Top Copyright Photo: Alaska Airlines Boeing 737-9 MAX 9 N941AK (msn 44101) LAX (Michael B. Ing). Image: 960101.

Alaska Airlines aircraft photo gallery:

Copa Holdings reports a net profit of $88.3 million for 4Q22 and $348.1 million for the full year 2022

Copa Airlines Boeing 737-9 MAX 9 HP-9912CMP (msn 44211) BFI (Brian Worthington). Image: 959983.

Copa Holdings, S.A. (Copa Airlines) has announced financial results for the fourth quarter of 2022 (4Q22) and the full year of 2022.

The following financial information, unless otherwise indicated, is presented in accordance with International Financial Reporting Standards (IFRS). See the accompanying reconciliation of non-IFRS financial information to IFRS financial information included in the financial tables section of this earnings release. Unless otherwise stated, all comparisons with prior periods refer to the fourth quarter of 2019 (4Q19) (which the Company believes are more relevant than year-over-year comparisons due to the significant impact of the COVID-19 pandemic in 2020 and 2021).

OPERATING AND FINANCIAL HIGHLIGHTS

Copa Holdings reported a net profit of US$88.3 million for 4Q22 or US$2.23 per share, mainly driven by the continued effect of high fuel prices as well as the negative mark-to-market effect of the Company’s convertible notes.
Excluding special items, comprised of the unrealized mark-to-market net loss of US$89.4 million mentioned above related to the Company’s convertible notes, as well as changes in the value of financial investments, the Company would have reported a net profit of US$177.7 million or US$4.49 per share.
For the full-year 2022, the Company reported a net profit of US$348.1 million or US$8.58 per share. Excluding special items, comprised of an unrealized mark-to-market net gain of US$12.7 million related to the Company’s convertible notes as well as changes in the value of financial investments, Copa Holdings would have reported an adjusted net profit of US$335.4 million or US$8.26 per share, compared to a net profit of US$336.3 million or earnings per share of US$7.92 in 2019.
In 4Q22, Copa Holdings reported an operating profit of US$219.7 million and a 24.7% operating margin.
For the full-year 2022, the Company reported an operating profit of US$450.4 millionand an operating margin of 15.2%, compared to an adjusted operating profit of US$435.5 million and an operating margin of 16.1% in 2019.
Total revenues for 4Q22 increased 30.6% to US$890.6 million, as compared to 4Q19 revenues. Yields increased 20.4% to 15.1 cents and revenue per available seat mile (RASM) increased 23.4% to 13.7 cents.
Adjusted operating cost per available seat mile (Adjusted CASM) increased 10.3% from 9.3 cents in 4Q19 to 10.3 cents in 4Q22, driven by an increase of 63.1% in the price of fuel per gallon. Adjusted CASM excluding fuel (Adjusted Ex-fuel CASM) decreased 7.0% in the quarter to 6.1 cents, as compared to 4Q19.
Passenger traffic, measured in terms of revenue passenger mile (RPMs), increased by 7.5% compared to 4Q19, while capacity (ASMs) increased by 5.9%. As a result, load factors for the quarter increased by 1.4 percentage points to 86.6%.
The Company ended the quarter with approximately US$1.1 billion in cash, short-term and long-term investments, which represent 38.3% of the last twelve months’ revenues, compared to US$1.2 billion held at the end of 2021.
The Company closed the quarter with total debt, including lease liabilities, of US$1.7 billion, compared to US$1.6 billion at the end of 2021.
During the quarter, the Company took delivery of two Boeing 737 MAX 9 aircraft, ending the year with a consolidated fleet of 97 aircraft – 67 Boeing 737-800s, 20 Boeing 737 MAX 9s, 9 Boeing 737-700s, and 1 Boeing 737-800 freighter, compared to a fleet of 102 aircraft prior to the COVID-19 pandemic.
Copa Airlines had an on-time performance for the quarter of 86.1% and a flight completion factor of 99.6%.

Subsequent Events

In January, the Company took delivery of one Boeing 737 MAX 9 and expects to receive one additional aircraft by the end of the first quarter.
In January, Copa Airlines was recognized by OAG as the most on-time airline in Latin America in 2022. Copa Airlines’ on-time performance of 87.5% for the year was the highest of any carrier in the Americas.
In February, the Company announced the commencement of services to Manta, Ecuador, Baltimore-Washington International Airport, and Austin, Texas, bringing the total number of destinations in our network to 80. All new services are scheduled to start between June and July of 2023.

Consolidated Financial & Operating Highlights	4Q22	4Q19 ⁽²⁾	Variance vs. 3Q19	3Q22	Variance vs. 2Q22	FY22	FY19 ⁽²⁾	Variance vs. YTD19
Revenue Passengers Carried (000s)	2,813	2,633	6.9 %	2,755	2.1 %	10,334	10,474	-1.3 %
Revenue Passengers OnBoard (000s)	4,262	3,838	11.1 %	4,190	1.7 %	15,724	15,424	1.9 %
RPMs (millions)	5,639	5,244	7.5 %	5,508	2.4 %	20,779	21,303	-2.5 %
ASMs (millions)	6,509	6,149	5.9 %	6,344	2.6 %	24,430	25,113	-2.7 %
Load Factor	86.6 %	85.3 %	1.4 p.p.	86.8 %	-0.2 p.p.	85.1 %	84.8 %	0.2 p.p.
Yield (US$ Cents)	15.1	12.5	20.4 %	14.1	7.5 %	13.6	12.3	10.8 %
PRASM (US$ Cents)	13.1	10.7	22.4 %	12.2	7.3 %	11.6	10.4	11.1 %
RASM (US$ Cents)	13.7	11.1	23.4 %	12.8	7.2 %	12.1	10.8	12.6 %
CASM (US$ Cents)	10.3	10.8	-4.6 %	10.5	-1.8 %	10.3	9.4	9.5 %
Adjusted CASM (US$ Cents) ⁽¹⁾	10.3	9.3	10.3 %	10.5	-1.8 %	10.3	9.0	13.8 %
CASM Excl. Fuel (US$ Cents)	6.1	8.0	-23.9 %	5.9	3.4 %	6.0	6.6	-9.7 %
Adjusted CASM Excl. Fuel (US$ Cents) ⁽¹⁾	6.1	6.6	-7.0 %	5.9	3.4 %	6.0	6.3	-4.6 %
Fuel Gallons Consumed (millions)	77.7	78.9	-1.6 %	75.7	2.7 %	291.4	321.4	-9.4 %
Avg. Price Per Fuel Gallon (US$)	3.52	2.16	63.1 %	3.81	-7.5 %	3.60	2.16	66.9 %
Average Length of Haul (miles)	2,005	1,992	0.7 %	1,999	0.3 %	2,011	2,034	-1.1 %
Average Stage Length (miles)	1,266	1,279	-1.0 %	1,265	0.1 %	1,275	1,288	-1.0 %
Departures	32,112	32,441	-1.0 %	31,484	2.0 %	120,155	131,819	-8.8 %
Block Hours	104,822	105,620	-0.8 %	102,027	2.7 %	390,639	431,749	-9.5 %
Average Aircraft Utilization (hours)	11.8	11.3	4.7 %	11.7	0.6 %	11.3	11.4	-0.7 %
Operating Revenues (US$ millions)	890.6	681.9	30.6 %	809.4	10.0 %	2,965.0	2,707.4	9.5 %
Operating Profit (Loss) (US$ millions)	219.7	17.8	1133.7 %	143.7	52.9 %	450.4	346.2	30.1 %
Adjusted Operating Profit (Loss) (US$ millions) ⁽¹⁾	219.7	107.1	105.0 %	143.7	52.9 %	450.4	435.5	3.4 %
Operating Margin	24.7 %	2.6 %	22.1 p.p.	17.8 %	6.9 p.p.	15.2 %	12.8 %	2.4 p.p.
Adjusted Operating Margin ⁽¹⁾	24.7 %	15.7 %	9.0 p.p.	17.8 %	6.9 p.p.	15.2 %	16.1 %	-0.9 p.p.
Net Profit (Loss) (US$ millions)	88.3	2.7	3136.5 %	115.9	-23.9 %	348.1	247.0	40.9 %
Adjusted Net Profit (Loss) (US$ millions) ⁽¹⁾	177.7	92.1	93.0 %	115.1	54.4 %	335.4	336.3	-0.3 %
Basic EPS (US$)	2.23	0.06	3376.5 %	2.93	-23.8 %	8.58	5.81	47.5 %
Adjusted Basic EPS (US$) ⁽¹⁾	4.49	2.17	107.3 %	2.91	54.5 %	8.26	7.92	4.4 %
Shares for calculation of Basic EPS (000s)	39,554	42,487	-6.9 %	39,589	-0.1 %	40,582	42,483	-4.5 %

Excludes Special Items. This earnings release includes a reconciliation of non-IFRS financial measures to the comparable IFRS measures.
The Company believes that comparisons with 2019 are more relevant than year-over-year comparisons due to the significant impacts in 2020 and 2021 of the COVID-19 pandemic.

Top Copyright Photo: Copa Airlines Boeing 737-9 MAX 9 HP-9912CMP (msn 44211) BFI (Brian Worthington). Image: 959983.

Copa Airlines aircraft photo gallery:

Copa Airlines is coming to Austin, Texas

Copa Airlines Boeing 737-9 MAX 9 HP-9911CMP (msn 44212) MIA (Tony Storck). Image: 960048.

Copa Airlines has announced the launch of its new nonstop service from its Hub of the Americas® in Panama City, Panama to Austin, Texas.

The new flight will begin operations to the Austin-Bergstrom International Airport (AUS) on July 6, 2023, and will become the 15^th U.S. destination for Copa Airlines.

The launch of Copa Airlines’ new Austin route in the U.S. adds to the airline’s continuous expansion efforts in North America joining fourteen other cities including Atlanta, Boston, Chicago, Denver, Fort Lauderdale/Hollywood, Las Vegas, Los Angeles, Miami, New York, Orlando, Tampa, San Francisco, and Washington.

Fleet:

In addition to the launch of the new route in Baltimore on June 28.

The Copa Airlines nonstop flight to and from Austin will operate four (4) weekly flights on Mondays, Wednesdays, Thursdays, and Saturdays, departing Panama at 9:18 a.m. (local time) and arriving at Austin-Bergstrom International Airport at 2:04 p.m. (local time). The return flight will operate on the same days, departing Austin at 3:34 p.m. (local time) and arriving back in Panama at 8:16 p.m. (local time).

Top Copyright Photo: Copa Airlines Boeing 737-9 MAX 9 HP-9911CMP (msn 44212) MIA (Tony Storck). Image: 960048.