DALLAS — Alaska Air Group announces the launch of Seattle (SEA) as a new global gateway. New nonstop service with Hawaiian Airlines (HA) widebody aircraft between Seattle and Tokyo Narita, Japan (NRT), and Seoul Incheon, South Korea (ICN), begins in 2025. An enhanced domestic network also launches this spring.
Daily nonstop flights between SEA and NRT start May 12, 2025, on HA’s Airbus A330-200 aircraft. These flights, with connections to other Asian destinations on oneworld Alliance partner Japan Airlines (JL), are available now at alaskaair.com and hawaiianairlines.com. Nonstop service between Seattle and ICN starts October 2025, with fares available early next year.
"We believe our guests will be as excited as we are about these new nonstop flights to Tokyo and Seoul – two of the world's most dynamic cities. From our global gateway in Seattle, we can conveniently connect travelers from across our network as they head to Asia and beyond," said Ben Minicucci, chief executive officer at Alaska Air Group.
"Hawaiian's spacious widebody aircraft, along with its excellent onboard service and amenities, will make for a terrific trip from one side of the Pacific Rim to the other."
Instigating Competition
Alaska Air Group’s Seattle-Tacoma hub is the largest on the West Coast, serving 104 nonstop destinations across North America.
By 2030, the company plans to serve at least 12 nonstop global destinations with long-haul widebody aircraft from Seattle, giving Delta Air Lines (DL) a run for its money on the asian front, as DL operates several A330 flights between Seattle and Tokyo as well as Seattle and Seoul, South Korea.
Alaska Air Group can compete against DL on these two routes through several strategic advantages:
- Complementary networks: The Alaska-Hawaiian partnership offers complementary cargo networks, which can be leveraged to compete in both passenger and freight markets.
- Connecting traffic: HA can leverage its strong presence in Hawaii to offer convenient connections for passengers traveling between Asia and the Hawaiian islands, providing a competitive advantage over Delta's more limited Hawaii network.
- Timing advantage: By launching these new routes, HA may be able to secure favorable slot times at the airports, potentially giving them an edge over DL's existing services.
- Alliance benefits: As part of the Alaska-Hawaiian partnership, HA can tap into Alaska Airlines' (AS) strong presence in Seattle and the West Coast, providing feed traffic and marketing support.
- Redeployed capacity: HA is repositioning aircraft from the Honolulu-Tokyo Narita route to Seattle, allowing them to optimize their Japan-Hawaii capacity while expanding in the Seattle market.
- More nonstops on the way: The Group is adding new nonstops on AS between San Francisco and both Kona on Hawai'i Island and Līhu'e on Kauaʻi. San Francisco-Kona service will be four times a week starting June 12, 2025, and San Francisco-Līhuʻe will be three times a week starting June 13, 2025.
Featured image: Tony Bordelais/Airways
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