On Monday, Alaska Airlines operated their first Boeing 737MAX revenue flight from Seattle to San Diego. YouTube travel blogger iTripReport was aboard the inaugural flight and shared his HD video of the flight on YouTube which you will find below.
The Aircraft For The Inaugural Flight SEA to SAN
The aircraft used for the inaugural flight is a Boeing 737MAX-9, registration number N913AK. It is the larger of Alaska’s two 737MAX variants with the other being the slightly smaller 737MAX8. A couple of years ago, Alaska Airlines created new first class and economy cabins featuring Recaro seats. These seats feature built-in tablet holders so you can enjoy the complimentary streaming entertainment on your device.
The seating arrangement is:
- 16 first class seats with a width of 21 inches and pitch of 41 inches,
- 24 premium economy seats with a width of 17 inches and a pitch of 35 inches and
- 138 economy seats with a width of 17 inches and a pitch of 31 – 32 inches.
The 737MAX features one restroom in first class and three restrooms in economy. These restrooms have a slight redesign with a larger sink to avoid the splashback of the smaller sinks. The life vests are now located overhead in the passenger service units (PSU).
The Flight
The first thing to note is that the weather in the Pacific Northwest was perfect for filming the inaugural flight. The flight was flown by:
- Captain Joe Blunt (left seat) who is Director of Flight Operations and an instructor pilot,
- Captian Brian Ayers (right seat) who is the Alaska Airlines Fleet Captain.
These pilots had previously flown the 737MAX over 15,000 miles of proving flights prior to the aircraft entering revenue service.
Here is the flight profile of the flight from FlightAware:
The Inaugural Flight In HD Video
Again, departing Seattle was under perfect weather conditions after several days of rain. iTripReport was seated in first class seat 3F which provided an amazing view outside the aircraft. During the flight, he captures a stunning view of Lake Tahoe.
Final Thoughts
The Boeing 737MAX aircraft after its troubled start has become the most scrutinized aircraft to be issued an airworthiness certificate. The MAX aircraft have been cleared to fly by all international regulatory bodies at this time except for China.
The Alaska Airlines MAX aircraft have the newer interiors with seating by Recaro that include built-in tablet holders. Alaska Airlines features complimentary streaming inflight entertainment for use on your device. No more having to deal with the broken IFE screen at your seat.
A big thanks to iTripReport for posting this amazing video.
