Why Alaska is getting rid of several dozen jets in high demand by airlines after only flying them for roughly 5 years

• Alaska Airlines is retiring its 10 remaining Airbus A321neo aircraft on September 30.
• The carrier will pay millions to get out of lease contracts and hand the planes off to other operators.
• The phase-out comes as Airbus confirmed its popular A321neo variant will have delivery delays in 2024.

Alaska Airlines is on track to be an all-Boeing operator by year's end.

In a recent earnings call, the Seattle-based carrier said the remaining 10 planes in its Airbus A321neo fleet will be retired by fall 2023.