Alaska Airlines has announced that Boeing's production oversight efforts will now include the 787 Dreamliner line in Charleston. This development follows a year after an incident where a door plug detached from one of Alaska's Boeing 737 MAX 9 aircraft during take-off from Portland.
In response to quality concerns, Alaska Airlines has taken several measures over the past year. The airline's audit team frequently visited Spirit AeroSystems in Wichita and Boeing's Renton factory, working alongside the US civil aviation regulator to assess Boeing's production quality and control systems.
Currently, Alaska Airlines deploys three aircraft acquisition representatives (AARs) at Boeing facilities five days a week to conduct inspections. Additionally, three engineers are stationed at the Boeing delivery center for customer walks and flight duties. Brooke Vatheuer, Vice President of audit programs at Alaska Airlines, stated: "We are optimistic about Boeing's dedication and positive momentum in making significant improvements thus far."