Alaska Airlines to Increase First Class Seats with Cabin Renewal Program
A retrofit will add 1.3 million premium seats annually to Alaska's mainline fleet

Photo: Courtesy of Alaska Airlines
A retrofit will add 1.3 million premium seats annually to Alaska's mainline fleet
by Lauren Smith
July 18, 2024
Photo: Courtesy of Alaska Airlines
Alaska Airlines is retrofitting more than 200 Boeing 737s to add more First Class and Premium seats, responding to rising consumer demand for premium travel experiences.
The project will allow Alaska Airlines to market an additional 1.3 million premium seats annually.
The retrofit will start this fall with the airline’s 79 Boeing 737-900ERs, which operate long-haul and heavily trafficked routes. On these planes, six economy seats will be converted into six Premium Class seats.
Photo: Courtesy of Alaska Airlines
Alaska hasn’t revealed how exactly it’s adding a row of Premium Class seats, with four inches more legroom, without reducing the total seat number. On a plane where every inch matters, that additional legroom must come from somewhere. However, Alaska was eager to ensure travelers that it wouldn’t be sacrificing the four lavatories installed on its Boeing 737s.
Then beginning early next year, Alaska will add four First Class seats to its 59 Boeing 737-800s, taking the total to 16.
Photo: Courtesy of Alaska Airlines
The carrier is also installing new first-class seating across the fleet. Produced by RECARO, the new seats have ample legroom, a calf rest, a six-way headrest with neck support, and USB-C charging capability.
Finally, between the spring of 2025 and the summer of 2026, Alaska will overhaul the interiors of its 80 Boeing 737 MAX 9s, again transforming one row of economy seats into Premium seats.
Alaska is responding to what it sees as “a structural shift in higher demand for premium products” across the aviation industry.
Photo: Alaska Airlines, Boeing 737 MAX 9. Courtesy of Boeing
And gone are the days when most premium seats were handed out as upgrades to frequent flyers: Alaska said it sold 71 percent of its First Class seats in the second quarter of this year, up 4.3 percent percentage points.
That pushed First Class revenue up 8 percent, while Premium Class revenue rose 6 percent.
Photo: Courtesy of Alaska Airlines
With premium seats and associated paid perks earning airlines up to four or five times the revenue of coach seats, you can see the incentive to install more of them.
The airline also said adding more premium seats will give frequent flyers more opportunities to nab a luxurious seat using their miles.
The announcement follows the successful completion of Alaska’s major retrofit of its Embraer 175 aircraft, which added 400,000 Premium Class seats to its regional fleet.
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