Alaska Airlines plans new Asia route, nixes ‘basic business’

Alaska Airlines is zeroing in on its next destination in Asia.

Speaking last week in Seattle, a top Alaska executive said the carrier was honing in on a new transpacific destination. It would be a new route for Alaska from Seattle-Tacoma International Airport (SEA).

“There will be a new destination in Asia that we’re currently working on,” Alaska chief commercial officer Andrew Harrison said.

Sadly, no hints beyond that: “That’s all I can say,” he added.

But any new Pacific routes would be a notable expansion for Alaska.

The airline currently serves just two nonstop destinations in Asia — Narita International Airport (NRT) in Tokyo (NRT) and Incheon International Airport (ICN) in Seoul — both from its SeaTac home base.

The carrier has been in the midst of a global growth spree after acquiring Hawaiian Airlines in 2024.

And it’s not done yet.

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15 long-haul destinations by 2030

After adding flights to Japan and South Korea in 2025, Alaska focused on growth in Europe this year. It launched flights from Seattle to London, Reykjavik and Rome. (And I tagged along for the inaugural flight to Rome in April.)

The airline has already revealed Paris and Athens as new international cities for 2027.

And there’s more to come over the next few years.

Alaska CEO Ben Minicucci has long said the airline would launch “at least” a dozen long-haul routes from Seattle by 2030. Last week, the carrier raised the bar and pledged at least 15 new overseas destinations by the end of the decade.

A focus on Asia

Going forward, flights across the Pacific Ocean will be the primary focus, it seems.

“There will be a mix, obviously, between Asia and Europe,” Harrison said while speaking on a panel at the company’s Sept. 29 investor day. “But a little bit more toward Asia.”

Geography likely has a lot to do with it. Seattle, Alaska’s home base, is one of the top global hubs for transpacific travel.

And with Tokyo and Seoul currently serving as the airline’s only Asia flights, there’s likely a lot more opportunity for the carrier on the continent in the years to come.

Stiff competition with Delta is likely

Alaska will likely have plenty of competition over the Pacific. Top Seattle rival Delta Air Lines has also pledged to expand its Asia route network in the years to come.

In August, a top Delta executive told me the carrier plans to launch nonstop service from the U.S. West Coast to Singapore in the near future and that it would not be from Los Angeles. Given that information, it seems a likely bet that those flights could originate at SEA, which Delta and Alaska share as a Pacific Northwest hub.

New York City routes planned for Alaska’s luxe new domestic plane

Among the many bits of news Alaska announced last week, one of the splashiest was its plan to install lie-flat seats and premium economy on some Boeing 737 MAX 10 planes.

Those are single-aisle planes the carrier has slated for domestic service.

Right after Alaska announced this luxe subfleet of MAX 10s, I predicted we’d likely see those jets on service to New York City.

It appears that’s exactly what the carrier is planning.

One hint was the code name Alaska employees had been using for these planes: “Project Gotham.”

Another hint was a cryptic map (briefly) displayed by the airline. It shows MAX 10 routes originating from each of Alaska’s West Coast hubs: San Francisco, Los Angeles, San Diego, Seattle and Portland, Oregon.

All of those routes appear to converge on the New York area — signaling potential flights to John F. Kennedy International Airport (JFK) and perhaps Newark Liberty International Airport (EWR).

“Obviously, New York City will be a huge recipient of this aircraft,” Harrison acknowledged. “We haven’t exactly announced the routes — but that’s where it will fly.”

Getting in on the luxe transcon market

Many of Alaska’s top rivals deploy highly premium configurations on their more lucrative transcontinental flights from New York City.

That will soon include United Airlines’ Airbus A321 “Coastliner” plane, which will sport 20 Polaris Suites and 12 Premium Plus recliners.

Good news for transcon ‘Aurora Suites’ passengers

Alaska hasn’t officially said that passengers who book the business-class suites on these new MAX 10s will get access to the new, high-end “Aurora Lounge” being built in Seattle.

However, TPG spoke with airline executives who said that’s the plan.

“I would expect, look, if you’re traveling in our top-end suites product — particularly on a paid basis — we’re going to want you to have the full, end-to-end experience,” Brett Catlin, Alaska’s senior vice president of network, partnerships and loyalty, said in an interview.

Exact access rules will be revealed closer to the late 2027 opening.

Starlink installations moving along

Last week, a dust-up over Starlink Wi-Fi led to an elite status showdown between top rivals United Airlines and Delta Air Lines.

But United is far from the only U.S. carrier to offer the fast on-board internet service.

Hawaiian was actually the first airline in America to install the satellites on its planes. And Alaska is in the process of rolling out the tech to its jets.

To date, about 40% of Alaska and Hawaiian’s combined fleets offer Starlink service, executives shared.

That includes all of Hawaiian’s Airbus planes and all Alaska regional jets.

The airline is currently installing Starlink on Alaska’s vast fleet of Boeing 737s.

A key holdout? Alaska’s Boeing 787 Dreamliners are still without internet service. Starlink installations on those jets will be completed “soon,” the carrier said.

Starlink is free for members of Alaska and Hawaiian’s Atmos Rewards loyalty program.

No basic business… for now

There’s one industry trend Alaska and Hawaiian do not plan to follow — at least for now.

Delta, United and JetBlue have all brought basic economy-style fares to their premium cabins.

Though airlines often follow one another in making policy changes, Alaska says it has no plans to launch “basic business” anytime soon.

“We don’t have any immediate ideas on following some of the announcements others have made,” chief financial officer Shane Tackett said. “We want to make sure what we’re doing is really the right thing by the guests and the business model.”

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