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Ever since Alaska Airlines became a member of the OneWorld alliance and it acquired Hawaiian Airlines, its ambition to turn itself into more than just a niche West Coast carrier has been clear.
A route between Seattle and Tokyo Narita launched back in May, a route between Seattle and Seoul is expected to launch in just a few weeks’ time, and a couple of months’ ago, the airline confirmed that its first European destination will be in Italy when it launches its Seattle – Rome route in May next year.
Not satisfied with all of that, the airline is now going further as it announced earlier today that London and Reykjavik will be added to its route network in 2026.
Details of exactly when these routes will launch and what the schedules will look like have not yet been made available (we may see the scheduled updated this coming weekend), but there are few other things that Alaska Airlines has made public.
Seattle – London route
Alaska Airlines has confirmed that it will serve London Heathrow airport with a daily year-round service out of Seattle from Spring 2026 (will Rome still be the first European destination?) using one of the Boeing 787-9 Dreamliners that it brought into its fleet with the Hawaiian Airlines purchase.
This means that Business Class passengers will enjoy access to 34 suites (with doors) based on the Adient Aerospace Ascent seat and which convert into a fully flat bed and give direct access to one of the aircraft’s two aisles to all passengers in the cabin.
In the Economy Class cabin, there should be 79 Extra Comfort seats where the pitch (legroom) is 36″ and the width 17.1″ and a further 187 regular Economy Class seats with just 31″ of pitch and 17.1″ of width.
This is what the airline has to say about this new route:
“As a gateway to Europe, this daily flight will connect guests 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 Hawaiʻi with conveniently timed connectivity to a highly desired market.
The route offers an alternative to those seeking more flight times, greater premium seat capacity, and the ability to earn and redeem valuable miles on Alaska’s award-winning loyalty program.
Alaska’s expansion into the London market, facilitated by strengthened collaborations with American Airlines and British Airways, presents significant opportunities. These alliances are expected to deepen over time, offering even greater value and connectivity to consumers.”
Seattle – Reykjavik route
This is set to be a summer seasonal service for Alaska Airlines and will be served by everyone’s favorite Boeing abomination – the 737 MAX 8 – from Spring 2026.
According to aerolopa, Alaska Airlines offers two cabin layouts in its MAX 8 aircraft and as Alaska Airlines hasn’t said how many seats will be on sale on this route, we don’t know if passengers will be offered 12 or 16 domestic First Class seats.
We’ll update this article when more information comes to light.
Quick thoughts
The first thought I had when reading this news was “I wonder where Alaska Airlines got the Heathrow slots from?”
Not only are Heathrow slots notoriously expensive, but they’re also very hard to get access to (hence the high cost) and yet here’s Alaska Airlines launching a new route to one of the most slot-constrained airports in the world.
One possibility is that British Airways has given/donated/lent/rented the necessary slots to Alaska Airlines with the idea that Alaska Airlines will join its transatlantic joint venture (the one which includes Iberia, American Airlines, Aer Lingus and Finnair) before taking over the Seattle Heathrow route from BA.
This would give Alaska Airlines the slots that it needs, it would free up aircraft for British Airways, and BA wouldn’t be giving up much by exiting the Seattle – Heathrow market as it would share in any profits that Alaska Airlines makes.
Obviously, there are a whole host of other possibilities, but until all the necessary filings are submitted, we won’t know one way or the other.
As far as the Reykjavik route goes, it’s a big “thanks but no thanks” from me.
Reykjavik is over 3,600 miles from Seattle (for reference, LAX-JFK is under 2,500 miles and BOS-LHR is under 3,300 miles) and flying that kind of distance in a tightly packed, single-aisle, abomination like the MAX 8 isn’t my idea of fun.
I admire the ambition that Alaska Airlines is showing with this route, but it’s a route that I have no interest in flying.
Bottom line
Alaska Airlines says that it will launch two more routes to Europe next year with Seattle – London Heathrow and Seattle – Reykjavik expected to be operating from Spring 2026.
Neith route has yet been added to the schedules so neither route is yet on sale (tickets are not expected to go on sale before the fall), but anyone interested in getting updates on the London route can register their interest with Alaska Airlines via this page.
