The blunder has sparked some "very tough, honest chats" with Boeing about the planemaker's shoddy work, Alaska boss Ben Minicucci told NBC in the chat, which was on telly late Tuesday.

He said that was fuming, more than upset and he wanted to know what Boeing was going to do to sort out their rubbish quality in-house.

US safety bods ordered all Max 9 planes grounded after the 5 January cock-up, which left a massive hole in the side of a jet and forced a quick landing. No one was badly hurt. Minicucci said there was a "guardian angel" on the flight.

Manufacturing quality at Boeing is under the microscope from regulators, customers and the planemaker itself after the blowout.

While Alaska and United Airlines Holdings, another big user of the Max model, have checked some of the planes, they're waiting for the final details from the Federal Aviation Administration and Boeing before the planes can fly again.

"Boeing can do better than this. Flight 1282 should never have happened," he said.