Boeing had readied SunExpress Germany’s 737 MAX 9, complete with its livery, way back in 2019. But with the type grounded, it couldn’t be delivered, so it has been resting its wings in the US since then. When COVID hit, Lufthansa wound up SunExpress, leaving the MAX with nowhere to go. Now, it seems it has found a new home with MAX-hungry Alaska Airlines.

An unwanted 737 MAX 9

Turkish Airline SunExpress gave Boeing a much-needed vote of confidence at the Dubai Airshow in 2019 when it announced it would exercise its options for an additional 10 more Boeing 737 MAX. This took its total firm order to 42 aircraft, some of which were due to head over to SunExpress Germany,

The aircraft was built for SunExpress back in 2019 but has been stored ever since then. Fully liveried for SunExpress Germany, the MAX 9 has been soaking up the sun in the United States, awaiting delivery once the type was cleared to fly. It was even given a German registration – D-ASMA.

Operated as a joint venture between Lufthansa and Turkish Airlines, SunExpress Germany had been founded in June 2011 as a subsidiary of SunExpress. Having begun operations with just three Boeing 737-800s flying from Germany to the Red Sea, it quickly grew to be a mid-sized leisure airline.

But amid the COVID crisis, Lufthansa decided to liquidate the airline, with its route network partially taken over by SunExpress and Eurowings. Much of its fleet of 737-800s went over to SunExpress (the Turkish arm), while three of its seven A330-200s ended up with Lufthansa’s newest airline, Eurowings Discover.

But what was to become of the painted-up 737 MAX 9?

Alaska Airlines to add another MAX

If there’s one airline that is all too eager to take any spare MAX 9s lying around, it’s Alaska Airlines. The carrier took delivery of its first of the type in January, following ungrounding at the end of last year, and since then has been keenly putting it through its paces.

Clearly, the airline was happy with the performance of this new aircraft, firming up its December order at the end of March. In May, it added a further 13 737 MAX 9s to its fleet, and in August, it agreed to exercise more options for another 12 MAX 9s. These newly exercised options are set to deliver in 2023 and 2024, but Alaska just can’t wait to get its hands on the new generation airplanes.

Just days ago, it was revealed that the MAX 9 ordered by Samoa Airways in January 2019 would now be heading to Alaska Airlines. Today, it became known that another MAX 9 would soon join Alaska’s fleet – D-ASMA from the original SunExpress Germany order.

D-ASMA has been spotted in Seattle in full Alaska Airlines colors, apart from the rudder. While it seems the rudder may have ended up on an aircraft that was due to go to Samoa Airways, this isn't the case. Rudders need to be rebalanced when they get repainted. In the Samoa Airlines aircraft above, this was completed ahead of the full paint scheme.

However, in the case of the SunExpress MAX, the aircraft received the full paint scheme but is still waiting until it can have its rudder balanced. The former SunExpress MAX is currently flying under Boeing’s test registration N1784B, ahead of being allocated its new Alaska Airlines registration number.

According to ch-aviation, Alaska Airlines’ current MAX 9 fleet stands at five aircraft. A further 75 are expected by the airline in the coming years, with several slated to arrive before the end of this year. The MAX 9 is enabling Alaska to speed up its transition to an all-Boeing fleet, whilst helping it achieve its sustainability goals too.