Alaska
Frustration with Boeing’s manufacturing problems boiling over at United, Alaska airlines
The leaders of United Airlines and Alaska Airlines took turns Tuesday blasting Boeing over manufacturing problems that have led to the grounding of more than 140 of their planes, with United’s CEO saying his airline will consider alternatives to buying a future, larger version of the Boeing 737 Max.
United CEO Scott Kirby said that Boeing needs “real action” to restore its previous reputation for quality.
Boeing said workers at its Renton 737 factory would stop work on Thursday to take part in work sessions focused on quality.
Company officials say the same “quality stand downs” will happen at other Boeing factories and fabrication sites over the next few weeks.
The strong and unusual criticism of Boeing by airline executives after a Jan. 5 accident when a mid-cabin door blew off an Alaska Airlines 737 MAX 9 mid-flight with passengers on board.
The cabin lost pressure and the plane was forced to descend rapidly and return to Portland, Ore. for an emergency landing.
The Federal Aviation Administration grounded the 737 MAX 9 the next day, and later recommended inspections of the 737 900ER. Investigators are probing whether bolts that help hold the panel in place were missing or broken off.
“It makes you mad that we’re finding issues like that on brand new airplanes,” Alaska Airlines CEO Ben Minicucci said.
Since the accident, dozens of passengers have signed onto a class action lawsuit with the Strittmatter Firm. They’re suing Alaska Airlines and Boeing.
United, which has been unable to use its 79 Max 9s, disclosed on Monday that it expects to lose money in the first three months of this year because of the grounding.
Kirby said on CNBC that he believes that the Max 9s could be cleared to fly again soon, “but I’m disappointed that the manufacturing challenges do keep happening at Boeing.”
At times over the past few years, manufacturing flaws have held up deliveries of Max jets and a larger Boeing plane, the 787. Last year, United received 24 fewer Boeing aircraft than it expected.
United has a standing order for Max 10 jets, a larger version of the Max line. However, that model and a smaller one, the Max 7, are years behind schedule for being certified by the Federal Aviation Administration. The grounding of the Max 9 jets is likely to further complicate Boeing’s drive to get the new models approved.
Kirby said the Max 10 is at least five years behind schedule and could be pushed further into the future.
Airlines rarely cancel orders, but sometimes they switch among various models in an order. Kirby wasn’t specific about what planes United could acquire instead of the Max 10 but said the airline would talk to Boeing. He noted that there is only one other global manufacturer of such large planes — Boeing’s European rival, Airbus.
Doing without the Max 10 probably means that Chicago-based United won’t grow as fast as it had hoped, Kirby added.
Minicucci said Alaska Airlines, which has 59 Max 9s, had planned to order Max 10s, but he suggested that could change.
“Everything is open at this point … we are going to do what is best for Alaska long term, in terms of fleet mix,” he said.
Stan Deal, CEO of Boeing’s commercial airplanes division, apologized for the Max 9 grounding and said the company is making changes.
“We have let down our airline customers and are deeply sorry for the significant disruption to them, their employees and their passengers,” Deal said in a prepared statement. “We are taking action on a comprehensive plan to bring these airplanes safely back to service and to improve our quality and delivery performance.”
The FAA has stepped up oversight of Boeing and is investigating whether the company and its suppliers — chiefly Spirit AeroSystems, which made the door plug — are following quality procedures in manufacturing.
The Max, Boeing’s best-selling line of planes, has a troubled history, going back to crashes in 2018 and 2019 that killed a total of 346 people. Those crashes — in Indonesia and Ethiopia — involved Max 8s and were attributed largely to an automated flight-control system that Boeing later overhauled.
All Max jets were grounded worldwide for 20 months after the crashes. Congressional investigators faulted Boeing for failing to fix design flaws and the FAA for weak oversight of the aircraft maker.
Shares of United Airlines Holdings Inc. rose 5% Tuesday, the first day of trading since the company said it would lose up to 85 cents per share in the first quarter because of the Max 9 grounding but earn $9 to $11 per share for the full year — a better 2024 outlook than analysts expected. Shares of Seattle-based Alaska Air Group gained 3%.
Shares of The Boeing Co., which is based in Arlington, Virginia, fell less than 2%.
©2024 Cox Media Group
Alaska
Yundt Served: Formal Charges Submitted to Alaska Republican Party, Asks for Party Sanction and Censure of Senator Rob Yundt
On January 3, 2026, Districts 27 and 28 of the Alaska Republican Party received formal charges against Senator Rob Yundt pursuant to Article VII of the Alaska Republican Party Rules.
According to the Alaska Republican Party Rules: “Any candidate or elected official may be sanctioned or censured for any of the following
reasons:
(a) Failure to follow the Party Platform.
(b) Engagement in any activities prohibited by or contrary to these rules or RNC Rules.
(c) Failure to carry out or perform the duties of their office.
(d) Engaging in prohibited discrimination.
(e) Forming a majority caucus in which non-Republicans are at least 1/3 or more of the
coalition.
(f) Engaging in other activities that may be reasonably assessed as bringing dishonor to
the ARP, such as commission of a serious crime.”
Party Rules require the signatures of at least 3 registered Republican constituents for official charges to be filed. The formal charges were signed by registered Republican voters and District N constitutions Jerad McClure, Thomas W. Oels, Janice M. Norman, and Manda Gershon.
Yundt is charged with “failure to adhere and uphold the Alaska Republican Party Platform” and “engaging in conduct contrary to the principles and priorities of the Alaska Republican Party Rules.” The constituents request: “Senator Rob Yundt be provided proper notice of the charges and a full and fair opportunity to respond; and that, upon a finding by the required two-thirds (2/3) vote of the District Committees that the charges are valid, the Committees impose the maximum sanctions authorized under Article VII.”
If the Party finds Yundt guilty of the charges, Yundt may be disciplined with formal censure by the Alaska Republican Party, declaration of ineligibility for Party endorsement, withdrawal of political support, prohibition from participating in certain Party activities, and official and public declaration that Yundt’s conduct and voting record contradict the Party’s values and priorities.
Reasons for the charges are based on Yundt’s active support of House Bill 57, Senate Bill 113, and Senate Bill 92. Constituents who filed the charges argue that HB 57 opposes the Alaska Republican Party Platform by “expanding government surveillance and dramatically increasing education spending;” that SB 113 opposes the Party’s Platform by “impos[ing] new tax burdens on Alaskan consumers and small businesses;” and that SB 92 opposes the Party by “proposing a targeted 9.2% tax on major private-sector energy producer supplying natural gas to Southcentral Alaska.” Although the filed charges state that SB 92 proposes a 9.2% tax, the bill actually proposes a 9.4% tax on income from oil and gas production and transportation.
Many Alaskan conservatives have expressed frustration with Senator Yundt’s legislative decisions. Some, like Marcy Sowers, consider Yundt more like “a tax-loving social justice warrior” than a conservative.
Related
Alaska
Pilot of Alaska flight that lost door plug over Portland sues Boeing, claims company blamed him
The Alaska Airlines captain who piloted the Boeing 737 Max that lost a door plug over Portland two years ago is suing the plane’s manufacturer, alleging that the company has tried to shift blame to him to shield its own negligence.
The $10 million suit — filed in Multnomah County Circuit Court on Tuesday on behalf of captain Brandon Fisher — stems from the dramatic Jan. 5, 2024 mid-air depressurization of Flight 1282, when a door plug in the 26th row flew off six minutes after take off, creating a 2-by-4-foot hole in the plane that forced Fisher and co-pilot Emily Wiprud to perform an emergency landing back at PDX.
None of the 171 passengers or six crew members on board was seriously injured, but some aviation medical experts said that the consequences could have been “catastrophic” had the incident happened at a higher altitude.
Fisher’s lawsuit is the latest in a series filed against Boeing, including dozens from Flight 1282 passengers. It also names Spirit AeroSystems, a subcontractor that worked on the plane.
The lawsuit blames the incident on quality control issues with the door plug. It argues that Boeing caught five misinstalled rivets in the panel, and that Spirit employees painted over the rivets instead of reinstalling them correctly. Boeing inspectors caught the discrepancy again, the complaint alleges, but when employees finally reopened the panel to fix the rivets, they didn’t reattach four bolts that secured the door panel.
The complaint’s allegations that Boeing employees failed to secure the bolts is in line with a National Transportation Safety Board investigation that came to the conclusion that the bolts hadn’t been replaced.
Despite these internal issues, Fisher claims Boeing deliberately shifted blame towards him and his first officer.
Lawyers for Boeing in an earlier lawsuit wrote that the company wasn’t responsible for the incident because the plane had been “improperly maintained or misused by persons and/or entities other than Boeing.”
Fisher’s complaint alleges that the company’s statement was intended to “paint him as the scapegoat for Boeing’s numerous failures.”
“Instead of praising Captain Fisher’s bravery, Boeing inexplicably impugned the reputations of the pilots,” the lawsuit says.
As a result, Fisher has been scrutinized for his role in the incident, the lawsuit alleges, and named in two lawsuits by passengers.
Spokespeople for Boeing and Spirit AeroSystems declined to comment on the lawsuit.
Alaska
FIRST ALERT: Heavy snow incoming to Southcentral, Southeast, and Southwest Alaska
ANCHORAGE, AK (Alaska’s News Source) – A large winter storm is not only bringing heavy snowfall, but warmer temperatures are approaching! The most impacted areas will include Southcentral, Southeast, and Southwest Alaska, with close to a foot of snow accumulation likely through Tuesday afternoon.
Anchorage will receive a trace of snow overnight and into the early morning hours with about 1 to 3 inches of snow by early Monday afternoon. Close to 5 inches of snow will fall across the Kenai Peninsula and Copper River Basin by Monday afternoon before Tuesday morning brings closer to a foot of snow accumulation across the region. Anchorage and Mat-Su snow totals by Tuesday morning will likely reach 8 to 10 inches.
www.alaskasnewssource.com/weather/alerts/
Juneau will most likely get the heaviest rounds of snow from this storm system with close to a foot of snow likely to accumulate by Monday afternoon with even more snow Tuesday morning. Across Southeast, snow total will vary but Sitka and Ketchikan will receive near 3 to 7 inches. Brace for a few days of heavy snowfall with wind gusts up to 30 miles per hour. Rapid snow accumulation will add hazard to roads and rooftops so be vigilant and weather aware.
Download the free Alaska’s News Source Weather App.
This storm is already making landfall from the Kuskokwim Delta to Bristol Bay. Expect 8 to 16 inches of snow by Monday night as the heaviest rounds will pass over late Monday morning. Wind gusts up to 40 miles per hour will add blizzard-like conditions with reduced visibility. The Aleutian Chain is bracing for high winds as the gusts up to 70 miles per hour are likely tomorrow. Light rain will pass through as a result of residual moisture of the tail-end of this storm.
The Interior will remain mostly dry tomorrow with mostly cloudy skies stretching over the Brooks Range and into the North Slope. Overnight lows are still quite chilly, sitting near 50 and 60 below zero. Coldest temperatures of the season were record Sunday morning at -50 degrees in Fairbanks, being the coldest temperature since February 2024 which was also -50 degrees. Light snow is possible Tuesday, but otherwise, very calm and quiet weather remains across central and northern Alaska.
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Copyright 2026 Alaska’s News Source. All rights reserved.
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