An Alaska Airlines Boeing 737 airplane departs Los Angeles International Airport en path to Washington, D.C., in Los Angeles, March 30, 2025.
Kevin Carter | Getty Images News | Getty Images
Alaska Airlines plans to begin its first flights to Europe next yr with nonstop service to Rome from Seattle.
The Seattle-based carrier’s latest route is enabled by its acquisition of Hawaiian Airlines — and its fleet of long-haul jets — last yr.
Flights are set to start in May and can go on sale in the autumn, Alaska said Tuesday. The four-times-a-week service will use Boeing 787-9 Dreamliner jets, that are within the combined company’s fleet after the merger.
Alaska plans so as to add a bunch of long-haul international destinations through the tip of the last decade from Seattle.
“We’re serious about constructing a world gateway out of Seattle, and we are going to serve the most important demand markets,” said Alaska’s chief industrial officer, Andrew Harrison.
Alaska’s leaders have said they wish to expand globally, and added Tuesday that many members of the airline’s Mileage Plan loyalty program have requested Rome service from its Seattle hub.
Italy has remained a preferred destination, prompting much larger rivals Delta and United to ramp up service there, including with latest nonstops to Sicily and smaller cities on the mainland.
Alaska launched service to Tokyo’s Narita International Airport in May and plans to begin service to Seoul in September. Harrison said the Tokyo flights are running about 80% full and added that he expects the flights to the 2 Asian capitals to spice up cargo revenue.
To operate the routes, the airline needs Federal Aviation Administration approval to have the combined fleet from Hawaiian on a single operating certificate, which Alaska said it expects within the fourth quarter.
