Alaska Airways places first Europe flights on sale

Alaska Airways has introduced the beginning date for its first-ever flights to Europe — and tickets are actually on sale.

The Seattle-based provider revealed its new nonstop service between the Pacific Northwest and Rome will launch April 28, 2026.

The flights will usher in a brand new transatlantic period for Alaska, one which the provider has been plotting ever since buying Hawaiian Airways final 12 months.

Alaska on Thursday additionally shared a couple of particulars concerning the “soft-product” companies it’s going to supply on its future long-haul worldwide service, together with Alaska Lounge entry for purchasers who ebook its lie-flat business-class seats.

“These new routes mark an amazing step in our world enlargement and mirror our dedication to delivering a premium worldwide expertise from Seattle,” Andrew Harrison, chief business officer of Alaska Airways, stated in a assertion Thursday.

Particulars: Alaska Airways’ new Rome flights

It has been a number of months since Alaska Airways first revealed Rome Fiumicino Leonardo da Vinci Airport (FCO) as its first European vacation spot from its Seattle-Tacoma Worldwide Airport (SEA) dwelling base.

Associated: Methods to attain Alaska Airways elite standing with simply 1 card

However the provider on Thursday lastly revealed full itinerary particulars — and shared that the flights will truly function day by day (as an alternative of simply 4 instances per week) throughout the peak summer season season.

Here is how the flight timing will shake out:

• SEA-FCO: Departs at 5:30 p.m. and arrives at 1:15 p.m. (all instances native)

• FCO-SEA: Departs at 3:25 p.m. and arrives at 5:45 p.m. (all instances native)

These Italy flights will probably be summer season seasonal, so you will see the service run via October.

Alaska’s Boeing 787-9 Dreamliner

There’s loads of novelty across the airplane Alaska will fly on its new European routes. In spite of everything, the provider has traditionally operated a fleet of solely single-aisle planes for years.

However beginning in 2026, Alaska will fly the Boeing 787-9 Dreamliner on its long-haul worldwide routes out of Seattle — together with these Rome flights — with a recent world Alaska-branded livery.

These are the identical lovely, new Dreamliners that Hawaiian Airways debuted in 2024 and had ordered extra of previous to the merger.

The plane options 34 business-class suites with sliding privateness doorways, organized in a 1-2-1 configuration.

Remember that as a part of the provider’s new Atmos Rewards program, top-tier Titanium elite standing members will get complimentary upgrades to those seats (pending availability, in fact). They would not have to redeem an improve certificates — or factors, for that matter.

Alaska will rebrand Hawaiian’s Further Consolation (extra-legroom) seats with its “Premium” designation.

Learn extra: Alaska Airways plots world enlargement — with slightly assist from Portland, San Diego and Atmos Rewards

We must always level out, although, that these planes, regardless of being usually state-of-the-art, do not need a bona fide premium financial system cabin.

Notably, these Boeing 787s can even convey seatback screens to the Alaska expertise — one thing you will not discover on its Boeing 737s.

All of Hawaiian’s current 787s (and people Alaska Air Group has on order) will ultimately get Alaska Airways branding.

Hawaiian, which continues to function as its personal model, will use its legacy Airbus A330s for its longer routes — although Alaska executives have pledged to provide these jets cabin upgrades, together with in premium financial system, within the coming years.

New world ‘delicate’ product

For months, Alaska Airways has been teasing a brand new world expertise for its worldwide service. That was needed as a result of the airline hadn’t beforehand had true long-haul flights to talk of.

Enterprise-class passengers on Alaska Airways’ transatlantic and transpacific flights will get Alaska Lounge entry earlier than departure.

Learn extra: Alaska Airways enters its intercontinental period with first-ever nonstop flight to Asia, operated by Hawaiian

On board, the provider will function amenity collaborations with a handful of manufacturers — with a powerful West Coast emphasis.

Meals, beverage and amenity partnerships embrace Salt and Straw, Straightaway Cocktails, Stumptown Espresso, Filson (for bedding in business-class, and blankets in coach) and Salt & Stone.

On the threat of sounding like I am doing a product plug (I am not!), I received to pattern the Alaska-Stumptown collaboration mix earlier this 12 months after a go to to the corporate’s Seattle headquarters — and it was positively a winner for this espresso connoisseur.

Reserving

Alaska plans to supply introductory fares for its Seattle-Rome flights beginning at $599 round-trip, which might be a steal between the West Coast and Europe.

Here is a fare I noticed for subsequent August.

However remember the fact that you may additionally see a lot larger costs on some peak spring and summer season journey dates.

I discovered Atmos Rewards bookings beginning as little as 35,000 factors one-way in financial system. Nevertheless, on many dates I checked, award pricing additionally ran fairly a bit larger than that.

In some instances, you should still discover extra aggressive Atmos Rewards award pricing by way of accomplice redemptions on American Airways — granted, that is with the hurdle of getting to make a connection as an alternative of flying nonstop.

Keep in mind that Alaska costs its Atmos Rewards redemption charges by way of a set award chart. Nevertheless, these are “beginning at” costs: As soon as the usual award area fills up, the provider continuously affords higher-priced awards as a substitute for merely blocking any additional award bookings. That was definitely the case for lots of the business-class redemptions I checked.

We’ll watch to see how Atmos Rewards award area and pricing pans out as Alaska Airways continues to develop its world long-haul community.

Learn extra: Alaska Airways’ helpful factors — and award chart — survive Atmos Rewards: ‘Not attempting to hoodwink anyone’

Up subsequent

Alaska expects to place its flights to London’s Heathrow Airport (LHR) on sale quickly. These flights will function year-round.

The provider can even launch nonstop service to Iceland in 2026 with a Boeing 737 MAX 8.

Associated studying: