Over the last 93 years, Alaska Airlines has grown beyond the bounds of its namesake state to become a West Coast staple, offering travelers west of the Rockies a quality regional alternative to “Big Four” airlines like Delta (DAL) , United (UAL) , American (AAL) and Southwest (LUV) .
In recent years, Alaska has grown into America’s fifth-largest airline through its 2016 acquisition of Virgin America and the expansion of its route network across the U.S. In addition, it has bolstered its profile among U.S. carriers by offering one of the world’s best frequent flyer programs and flying one of the newest aircraft fleets in the country.
However, to make the “Big Four” into the “Big Five,” Alaska is zooming out.
Alaska’s Big International Bet
Until recently, Alaska has prioritized domestic routes suitable for the company’s Boeing 737 and Embraer E175-only fleet. Alaska has picked up a number of international routes to Canada, Mexico and other Central American destinations which can be flown on these aircraft.
However, after the company’s $1.9 billion acquisition of Hawaiian Airlines last year, the company added the larger Airbus A330 and Boeing 787 to their fleet, which are capable of much longer-range travel. As a result, the company has been expanding their horizons from their Seattle hub, where the airline dominates domestic travel.
Soon, it hopes it will dominate international routes too. Not long after the acquisition, Alaska announced that it would launch “at least 12 intercontinental destinations” from the Seattle hub by 2030.
It wasted no time in announcing the first two — to Tokyo’s Narita and South Korea’s Incheon. It later announced flights to Rome, which will start in 2026. And on Wednesday, it announced that it would add flights to London’s Heathrow and Iceland’s Reykjavík starting in Spring 2026.
Alaska Adds the 787
In a bid to maintain the Hawaiian Airlines branding, Alaska said that it would fly the Hawaiian Airbus A330 on some of these international routes, as well as flights between Hawaii and the U.S. mainland.
But Alaska has a new vision for Hawaiian’s 787-9 Dreamliner — and it’s in their livery.
Alaska Air
Alaska says it will fly its four Dreamliners to Seoul, Tokyo and London, when the routes launch in September, January and Spring 2026, respectively. Its flight to Reykjavík will be serviced by a 737 Max 8 aircraft.
The company adds that it is in the process of expanding its 787-9 fleet to 17 aircraft, standing up a base in Seattle to support its further expansion.
With that said, Alaska still has seven destinations to announce, many of which will likely be serviced by their fresh 787-9 aircraft.
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