Alaska Airlines is putting Seattle on the long-haul map in a big way. The carrier just announced two more international routes from Seattle-Tacoma for 2027: a nonstop to Osaka Kansai starting 14 May, and a nonstop to Papeete, Tahiti, from 11 June. Both will fly on Airbus A330-200s borrowed from the Hawaiian Airlines fleet.

The Osaka service runs four times a week, departing Seattle at 12:10 p.m. and landing in Japan at 4:00 p.m. the next day. The midday departure is a smart setup for anyone connecting from Alaska's West Coast network — you arrive in Seattle that morning instead of rushing overnight. The return leaves Osaka at 6 p.m., so you don't lose your last day in Japan to the airport. It'll be the only Seattle-Osaka option and just the second mainland US route to the city, alongside Japan Airlines' Los Angeles flight. Hawaiian keeps its daily Honolulu-Osaka service running too.

Tahiti is arguably the more enticing schedule. The plane leaves Seattle at 11:55 p.m. — dinner at home, sleep on board, and you touch down in Papeete at 7:20 a.m. with a full day ahead and easy onward hops to Bora Bora. The return departs at 5 p.m. and reaches Seattle at 6 a.m., ideal for morning connections. It flies Wednesdays, Fridays and Saturdays.

Both routes use Hawaiian's A330-200s, and that's the real story here. After acquiring Hawaiian, Alaska suddenly owns widebody aircraft capable of reaching deep into Asia and the South Pacific — and it's deploying them from Seattle, fed by its huge Pacific Northwest domestic network. Add these to previously announced Paris and Athens flights, and Alaska's Summer 2027 international map from Seattle covers Athens, London, Osaka, Paris, Papeete, Reykjavik, Rome, Seoul and Tokyo-Narita. Most are seasonal rather than year-round, and CEO Ben Minicucci has hinted there's more to come.

Why it matters: West Coast travellers who previously handed off to partner airlines for long-haul trips can now fly the same carrier the whole way, earning Mileage Plan (Atmos Rewards) miles throughout. For anyone in Washington, Oregon, California or Alaska, a beach holiday in French Polynesia or a city break in Kansai just got a lot simpler — no partner connections, no red-eye through LAX. It also signals that Seattle is becoming a genuine international gateway to rival the big coastal hubs, which should only increase competition and choice for travellers. Tahiti's overnight schedule in particular is one of the more traveller-friendly routings to the South Pacific from the US mainland.