Alaska Airlines is planning to launch flights to London and Reykjavik, Iceland next spring as part of its ambitious international expansion from Seattle.
The carrier also revealed a new paint scheme for its expanding fleet of Boeing 787-9s.
Alaska plans to eventually operate up to 17 787s following Alaska Air Group’s acquisition of widebody operator Hawaiian Airlines, which has enabled a new era of global expansion for the formerly domestic- and near-international- focused 737 operator.
Following the launch last month of its first transpacific flights, from Seattle to Tokyo, Alaska intends to start flying to Seoul in September, and then to Rome in May, with intentions to operate an international network of at least 12 cities by 2030.
The carrier is building a 787 base in Seattle that will serve as a jumping-off point for global operations, along with Hawaiian’s Airbus A330 base in Honolulu.
Alaska says it will offer daily, year-round flights between Seattle and London on 787-9s, connecting passengers “throughout the West Coast to London and other destinations served by Alaska’s extensive partner network”.
“Beyond those in the Pacific Northwest, this new service will also provide guests in the states of Alaska and Hawaii with conveniently timed connectivity to a highly desired market,” Alaska says of the London flight.
The carrier adds that its expansion to London “is facilitated by strengthened collaborations with American Airlines and British Airways”.
”These alliances are expected to deepen over time, offering even greater value and connectivity to consumers,” Alaska says.
On the Seattle-Reykjavik route, Alaska will operate 737 Max 8s, which it says are “designed for this type of long-range flying”.
Alaska says its new Dreamliner livery – with ”deep midnight blues and lush emerald greens” – was inspired by the aurora borealis, a phenomenon “well-known across the state of Alaska”, and that a horizontal stripe nods to the paint schemes on Alaska’s jets in the 1970s and 1980s.
The first 787 will be painted in January and the entire 787 fleet will have the new paint scheme next spring, it says.
Alaska now operates four 787-9s and says it aims to open its 787 pilot base in Seattle in the first half of 2026.
