Summary
- Alaska Airlines uses its Boeing 737-900 ER on longer transcontinental flights and flights to the Caribbean.
- As of July 2024, the majority of Alaska’s 737 fleet is the Boeing 737-900ER.
- Overall consensus of Alaska’s Boeing 737-900ER product is positive, despite the age of the aircraft.
Table of Contents
Alaska Airlines is a well featured airline in the Pacific Northwest for obvious reasons.
The airline has expanded over time and has quite a robust offering of cross country flights to the East Coast, and international flights to the Caribbean.
The workhorse for the airline on these long distance flights is the Boeing 737-900ER.
The 900-ER is part of Boeing’s 737 Next Generation class that rolled out during the 2000s.
Although the airline has time on these airframes and also operates the Boeing 737 Max aircraft on these long range flights, the 737-900 ER still continues to get its fair share of use.
In this guide, we will walk you through the role of the 737-900ER in Alaska’s fleet, showcase a portion of the routes the airframe is used for, discuss the seating configuration and amenities, and wrap up with reviews of Alaska’s Boeing 737-900ER product.
What is the role of the Boeing 737-900 ER for Alaska Airlines?
Alaska Air Lines is known for operating an all-Boeing fleet. That makes lots of sense considering that the airline’s headquarters are in Seattle, which is also the home to Boeing.
The Boeing 737 is Alaska’s workhorse aircraft of choice. It is suitable for short and medium haul trips as well as transcontinental flights depending on the variation.
The variation in discussion is the Boeing 737-900 ER. The 900 ER is the longest ranged aircraft that is part of Boeing’s “Next Generation” fleet of 737’s which came into service during the 2000’s.
The ER can fit upwards of 178 passengers and fly them distances of close to 2720 nautical miles or 3130 normal miles. That means that the Boeing 737-900 ER is more than capable of flying transcontinental flights for Alaska Airlines.
Alaska’s Boeing 737-900 ER Aircraft Inventory
As of July 2024, Alaska Airlines has 79 Boeing 737-900 ER available for passenger service. Out of all the Boeing 737 types the airline flies, the -900 ER is the most common type.
Internal competition from the Boeing 737 Max
The generation of Boeing 737 after the -900 is the MAX generation. Alaska Airlines also operates the MAX version of the 737. The Max generation is the only competing airframe type for the -900 ER.
However, the MAX version of the 737 has had a history of flaws and aircraft groundings. It is a very capable aircraft, built for fuel efficiency however issues in the manufacturing of the MAX have caused these problems.
Alaska Airlines will likely stick to flying the Boeing 737-900 ER until many of these issues with the Boeing 737 MAX get resolved.
Alaska’s Boeing 737-900 ER Routes
Alaska Airlines uses their Boeing 737-900 extensively on flights across the country and internationally to the Caribbean.
Being a Seattle based airline, the bulk of their flights using this aircraft type start from there. Flights also originate from some of Alaska’s other West Coast hubs such as Portland, San Francisco, and Los Angeles.
Below are only a portion of the routes that Alaska Airlines operates the Boeing 737-900 ER on.
| Departure Airport | Arrival Airport |
| New York – JFK | Portland – PDX |
| Boston – Logan | Seattle – SEA |
| Washington – Dulles | Seattle – SEA |
| Chicago – O’Hare | Anchorage – ANC |
| Fort Lauderdale – FLL | Seattle – SEA |
| Atlanta – Hartsfield | Seattle – SEA |
| Newark – EWR | Seattle – SEA |
| Toronto – YYZ | Seattle – SEA |
| Orlando – MCO | Seattle – SEA |
| Dallas – Fort Worth | Seattle – SEA |
| Newark – EWR | San Diego – SAN |
| Miami – MIA | Seattle – SEA |
| Dallas – Fort Worth | Portland – PDX |
| Dallas – Love | Seattle – SEA |
| Newark – EWR | Los Angeles – LAX |
| Cancun – CUN | Los Angeles – LAX |
| Washington – Dulles | Los Angeles – LAX |
| Phoenix – Sky Harbor | Seattle – SEA |
| Austin – AUS | San Francisco – SFO |
| Washington – Dulles | San Francisco – SFO |
| San Diego – SAN | Seattle – SEA |
| Los Angeles – LAX | Portland – PDX |
| San Francisco – SFO | Seattle – SEA |
| Las Vegas – LAS | Seattle – SEA |
| San Antonio – SAT | Seattle – SEA |
| Raleigh Durham | Seattle – SEA |
| Charleston – CHS | Seattle – SEA |
| Chicago – O’Hare | Portland – PDX |
| Burbank – BUR | Portland – PDX |
| New Orleans – MSY | Seattle – SEA |
| Juneau – JUN | Anchorage – ANC |
| Fairbanks – FAI | Seattle – SEA |
| Juneau – JUN | Seattle – SEA |
| Anchorage – ANC | Seattle – SEA |
How Alaska Airlines Configures Their Boeing 737-900 ER?
Alaska’s Boeing 737-900 ER are configured in a three passenger class layout. There are first, premium and economy classes on these flights. Alaska devotes 16 seats to first class, 24 seats for premium, and 117 seats for economy class.
Seating Configurations
First Class
First class is configured in a 2×2 layout. It offers the most legroom on the plane, upwards to 41 inches in pitch. The seats found in first class are recliner seats. These seats also include the widest width on board the aircraft totaling up to 21 inches.
Premium Class
The premium class on board Alaska’s Boeing 737-900 ER flights are set up in a 3×3 layout. These premium seats offer the second most amount of legroom on the plane, 35 inches. The seat width is the same 17 inches as you would get in economy class.
Economy Class
For Alaska’s economy class product, passengers receive 31 to 32 inches of legroom with 17 inches of width per seat. The airline configures this class in a standard economy 3×3 layout.
What Amenities Do You Receive On These Flights?
Inflight Entertainment
Alaska Airlines flights using the Boeing 737-900 ER have an inflight entertainment system. Passengers can watch up to 800 free movies and television from Alaska’s robust entertainment catalog.
Power
The Boeing 737-900 ER features 100 Volt AC power ports as well as USB ports available for every seat.
Internet
Each Boeing 737-900 ER flight also has super fast WIFI available for purchase. Alaska charges $8 for WIFI for the entirety of the flight.
Food and Beverage
Depending on the flight type, length, and time of day, Alaska Airlines does offer food and drink options for all passenger classes.
Passengers are also capable of pre-ordering their food on the airline’s Mobile app as well.
Reviews of Boeing 737-900 ER Flights by Alaska Airlines Passengers
Our Thoughts About Alaska’s 737-900 ER experience
Comparable to Other Products on the Market
Alaska’s Boeing 737-900 ER product is pretty satisfactory. It is a notch above commonly compared airlines like Southwest Airlines and competes well with legacy airlines like United, Delta and American Airlines.
The only “low cost” airline that might have a superior product on transcontinental flights would be JetBlue, especially when concerning their “Mint” product offering.
Despite Becoming Older, It’s Still a Good Product
For longer flights in 2024, yes the 737-900 ER is becoming an aging airframe. With carriers now switching to new aircraft types like the Boeing MAX and Airbus A320 NEO that put customer experience at the forefront especially in the noise ambience category, it is understandable when prospective flyers might turn their nose at the 737-900ER.
It is noisier than the MAX, and the cabin may have more wear and tear.
However, the Boeing 737-900ER is more than a capable aircraft. Alaska’s cabin layout and offerings of amenities does take the sting away.
Wrapping Up
For what is worth, if you are looking to fly from or to the Pacific Northwest on a transcontinental flight, Alaska Airlines and their Boeing 737-900ER product would be a step above any ultra low cost carrier option on the market.
What The Flight Reviewers Are Saying?
The following reviews we found on the internet were helpful. Granted, sometimes airlines know that flight reviewers are on flights and cozy up the experience a little bit. So these can be taken with a grain of salt.
Overall, the sentiment was quite positive.
“I had a great flight in Alaska Airlines first class. While I was initially bummed about the swap from a 737 MAX 9 to a 737-900ER, I still had a good experience. Alaska’s first class seats are more spacious than at other US airlines, and the airline has pretty good food and drinks, friendly service, and reasonably priced Wi-Fi.“
“For the most part, I enjoyed my one-way flight with Alaska Airlines. The crew was friendly and attentive, the food was great and I was able to stay (mostly) connected while flying cross-country. I would certainly consider flying Alaska again if I were traveling to or from the Pacific Northwest.”
The Points Guy
“All in all, I had a fabulous flight with Alaska Airlines. The seat was very comfortable, the service attentive without being overbearing and the food was quite delicious. Just like my flight from Seattle to Denver in January, I found everything faultless from start to finish. The Seattle based airline just seems to get it right and they have crew that seem happy to be there. It makes all the difference and I can’t wait to do it again sometime.“
Sources
https://www.alaskaair.com/content/travel-info/our-aircraft/737-900-er
https://seatguru.com/airlines/Alaska_Airlines/Alaska_Airlines_Boeing_737-900_D.php
