Alaska Airlines is sharpening its aspirations to become a more premium long-haul airline. The carrier announced two new transatlantic routes launching in the Spring of 2026 alongside a new brand identity that will be sported by its growing fleet of Boeing 787s.

International Flights

Alaska will launch new year-round routes from Seattle to Reykjavik, Iceland, and London-Heathrow in the Spring of 2026. These represent the airline’s fourth and fifth intercontinental routes following the launch of its Seattle-Tokyo service using Hawaiian Airlines A330s. Furthermore, Alaska’s new A330 service between Seattle and Seoul will launch in September, with its Seattle to Rome service slated to launch in the Spring of 2026.

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Service to London will be a big feat for Alaska. London is Seattle's busiest intercontinental destination, with over 400 passengers flying between the two cities every day. Furthermore, London is the largest European hub for the OneWorld alliance, thanks to British Airways. Alaska joined the alliance in 2021, so this new route is expected to boost connectivity. For Alaska, Seattle's “hometown airline,” launching service on the city’s most in-demand long-haul route is both a strategic move and a point of pride.

The new Seattle-Reykjavik service will use Alaska's existing fleet of Boeing 737 MAX 8 aircraft, which have the range and smaller passenger capacity to serve the route’s distance and limited clientele. Service to London and Rome will use Boeing 787-9s.

Rumors circulated that the Hawaiian 787s acquired through the Alaska-Hawaiian merger would be used on the new Rome services. However, the recent route announcement has put those rumors to rest: Alaska will operate the flights using its own aircraft.

Alongside Alaska's new route announcement was the news that the airline is unveiling a new livery, specific to its fleet of Dreamliners. This new livery is inspired by the Aurora Borealis (Northern Lights) and uses deep midnight blues and emerald greens to fully capture the energy of the Aurora.

A departure with this livery is the absence of “Chester”, the Alaskan Eskimo whose face has become synonymous with the brand. Alaska’s current fleet of 737s and E175s will retain their current branding; this new livery will only be applied to the Dreamliners.

Alaska currently has four 787-9s in its fleet, all of which wear the Hawaiian livery. The carrier aims to grow this number to 17 Dreamliners in the next few years as it receives outstanding orders. As it stands, the first Dreamliner wearing the new livery will debut in January, and all Dreamliners in the fleet will be repainted or delivered by the Spring of 2026.

Alaska is heavily dependent on the 787 for its growing intercontinental network from Seattle. Currently operated by Hawaiian A330s, the Seattle-Tokyo and Seattle-Seoul routes will be shifting to 787 service, with the Seoul route receiving the upgrade on September 12th and Tokyo-Narita on January 7th.

With this in mind, the 24 Hawaiian A330-200s that represent the majority of widebody aircraft currently in the Alaska Air Group will remain based in Honolulu. These planes will focus on long-haul and U.S. mainland flying, as they always have been. Alaska has stated that it plans to substantially invest in these aircraft in the coming years, with all-new cabins featuring updated Business Class and Premium Economy seats planned.

The airline has not commented on the future state of the Hawaiian 787 interiors. As these cabins have been designed to be unmistakably Hawaiian, Alaska has not provided any updates on whether the current 787s will be retrofitted with a new cabin design or if any configuration changes will be coming to the new Dreamliners awaiting delivery.