Alaska Airlines to launch two new flights to popular European destinations | Official Website of Louis Velazquez, entrepreneur, finance guy and tech innovator

While many travelers still associate Alaska Airlines (ALK) exclusively with flights to and from the Last Frontier, the Seattle-based carrier serves over 100 destinations across the United States, Canada, Mexico, Costa Rica and Belize.

Alaska launched its first two international routes, between San Francisco and Mexico’s Puerto Vallarta and Mazatlán, back in 1988. While the airline’s Mexico service has expanded to more than 20 cities across the country, its network has up until now been confined to the North American continent — a situation that the airline has been actively trying to change with a new route between Seattle and Rome announced at the start of June and, now, new flights to London and Reykjavik.

Don’t miss the move: SIGN UP for TheStreet’s FREE Daily newsletter

‘The number one destination out of Seattle’

Announced on Aug. 5, the new nonstop flights are slated to start running between Seattle-Tacoma International Airport (SEA) and London Heathrow (LHR) and Reykjavik Airport (RKV) in May 2026.

The London route will run year-round on a Boeing 787-9 Dreamliner (BA) plane while the Reykjavik flight is designed for summer service on a 737-8 MAX. The two cities were selected, according to the airline, due to demand for more direct service from Seattle to these cities among both business and leisure travelers for the former.

Kirsten Amrine, Alaska’s vice president of revenue management and network planning, said that over 400 passengers fly daily between Seattle and London on an average day.

“It’s London, it’s the crown jewel of the network, it’s the number one destination out of Seattle,” Amrine said in a statement to the Points Guy. Iceland, meanwhile, has grown increasingly popular as a destination among U.S. travelers over the last decade.

As part of its ongoing efforts to expand to more international destinations, Alaska began running a flight between Seattle and Tokyo in May 2025 and will start another flight to Seoul-Incheon International Airport (ICN) from the city on September 12. It had earlier also expressed plans to significantly expand its Seattle base and committed to have at least 12 international flights running out of the city in the coming years.

Iceland has continued to draw in high numbers of North American tourists.

Image source&colon; Shutterstock

‘Redefine the international experience and level up’: Alaska CEO on new routes

The Seattle-Reykjavik flight will take just over seven hours while the one to London currently takes approximately nine-and-a-half hours on Delta Air Lines (DAL) and British Airways. The Alaska 737- 8 Max plane has 12 first class and 30 premium economy seats while the 787-9 Dreamliners is equipped with 34 business class cabins.

More on travel:

“With these bold moves, we are accelerating our vision to connect our guests to the world,” Alaska Airlines CEO Ben Minicucci said in a statement that also calls it the airline’s efforts to “redefine the international experience and level up.”

As part of the same announcement, Alaska also unveiled a new Boeing 787-9 livery inspired by the northern lights that one can see in the country during certain times of the year — a shiny blue-and-green paint scheme on the tail with the regular Alaska airline at the front of the plane. The design of planes running for Hawaiian Airlines, which Alaska acquired in 2024, will retain its current logo and pink and purple color scheme.