Alaska airlines phasing out A320 and Dash 8-400

Alaska airlines announced in an earnings call that it would be retiring its A320 series and Q400 aircraft.

Alaska Airlines A320

After the successful acquisition of Virgin America by Alaska airlines the carrier was left with a mixed fleet, Alaska was previously an all Boeing 737 operator, however it inherited a large Airbus A320 fleet from Virgin America. Operating only one type has many advantages such as less crew training and a more streamlined maintenance plans, although these two types do share some similarities such as the engines, they are fundamentally different in their design and Alaska wants to go back to an all-Boeing fleet. They recently placed an order for the 737 MAX, these airplanes are intended to replace their A320 and A321 aircraft, perhaps surprisingly they are also retiring their brand new A321neo aircraft by year’s end 2023.

Horizon Air DeHavilland Dash 8-Q400

Horizon Air who operates Alaska’s regional brand Alaska Horizon also announced it would be retiring it’s De Havilland Canada Dash 8-400 (formerly the Bombardier Q400), it will be replaced by the Embraer E175. The E175 offers many advantages over the Dash 8, both for passengers and the airline. It offers Wi-Fi, larger seats, and a quieter cabin; for the airline it has a larger capacity, is faster, has more range and offers more operational flexibility. 

The airline said it would complete its fleet transition by end of year 2023.