For Alaska Airlines and its passengers, a return to normal may take a while. The carrier has grounded one-fifth of its fleet after a fuselage panel blew out on one of its Boeing 737 Max 9 jets Friday night, leaving a hole in the side of the plane.
The airline announced Wednesday that it would keep its Max 9 jets grounded until at least Saturday while it awaited instructions from Boeing on how to carry out safety inspections.
United Airlines, with 79 planes, and Alaska, with 65, are the heaviest users of the Max 9 in the United States. But the jet model makes up less than 10% of United’s fleet, allowing it to fill in gaps on planned routes more easily than Alaska.
