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Alaska Air Group will likely deploy Boeing 737-800s to take over Hawaiian Airlines’ interisland flying as it looks ahead to phasing out the smaller workhorse jet that’s handled the mission for a quarter-century.
“The default at this point will be 737s. I think it’s the most likely answer to replace the 717s,” said Shane Tackett, newly-appointed Alaska president in a June 6 interview with The Air Current at the International Air Transport Association’s Annual General Meeting in Rio de Janeiro.
Related: Alaska embraces a ‘proudly all airplanes’ strategy with Hawaiian integration
“That’s not imminent,” he adds, noting that its Boeing 717 is “purpose-built” for that high-cycle, short flight time operation in the corrosive salt air of the central Pacific.
Tackett, who remains the airline’s CFO, was promoted to Alaska’s president on June 17, appearing to set up a corporate succession plan for the Seattle-based airline’s CEO, Ben Minicucci, who has led the company since 2021.
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