Alaska Airlines is working on another nonstop route to Asia from its Seattle-Tacoma home base, chief commercial officer Andrew Harrison confirmed at the carrier's September 29 investor day. No city was named, but it would join Tokyo Narita and Seoul Incheon as the airline's only Asian destinations — a notably thin map for a carrier that now plans at least 15 long-haul international routes from Seattle by the end of the decade.

The ambition has grown fast since Alaska bought Hawaiian Airlines in 2024. Tokyo and Seoul launched in 2025, and this year the airline turned west across the Atlantic too, with new Seattle flights to London, Reykjavik and Rome. Paris and Athens are already on the 2027 schedule. Going forward, though, Harrison said the split will lean toward the Pacific — no surprise given Seattle's status as one of the top transpacific gateways in the US.

Expect a fight over those routes. Delta, which shares Seattle as a hub with Alaska, has signalled its own Asia push, including West Coast nonstops to Singapore that executives have hinted will not come from Los Angeles — making SeaTac a likely launchpad.

Closer to home, Alaska is prepping a premium single-aisle subfleet of Boeing 737 MAX 10s with lie-flat suites and premium economy, and the internal code name — "Project Gotham" — plus a leaked route map pointed straight at New York. Harrison all but confirmed it, saying New York City will be the big winner when the planes arrive, likely flying to JFK and possibly Newark. That puts Alaska in the luxe transcon market against United's upcoming A321 "Coastliner" with Polaris suites. Passengers booking the new suites should also get access to Alaska's high-end "Aurora Lounge" in Seattle when it opens in late 2027, executives suggested, though formal rules are still to come.

On the tech front, about 40% of the combined Alaska-Hawaiian fleet now has Starlink Wi-Fi, free for Atmos Rewards members. That covers all Hawaiian Airbus jets and Alaska regionals, with 737 installations under way and the Dreamliners — currently the odd ones out — to follow soon.

One trend Alaska is skipping for now: "basic business" fares. While Delta, United and JetBlue have all stripped down their premium cabins with no-frills versions, CFO Shane Tackett said Alaska has no immediate plans to follow.

For travellers, this is one to watch when booking future trips from the West Coast: a bigger Seattle hub means more nonstop options to Asia without connecting through LAX or SFO, plus a genuinely competitive premium cabin on transcontinental flights. If you're loyalty-minded, the free Starlink perk and the expanding Atmos Rewards network make the combined carrier increasingly useful for both Pacific and Atlantic itineraries.