New Found Power

Chester the Eskimo is leveling up. Fresh from the completion of the purchase of Hawaiian Airlines and folding into the multi-carrier Alaska Air Group, Alaska Airlines is on the warpath to make its hometown of Seattle the new Gateway to both the Pacific and Atlantic, and run the badly bleeding Delta Air Lines out of town once and for all, save for service to its hubs, of course.

Yesterday's announcement was by far the biggest, most farthest-reaching announcement the carrier has made in its 93 year history. The carrier has already announced service from Seattle to Rome/Fiumicino, Italy starting next year, using the ex-Hawaiian Boeing 787-9's, as well as beginning flights to Tokyo/Narita, Japan and Seoul/Incheon, South Korea earlier this year. It's been announced the 787-9's will be based in Seattle, while the Hawaiian A330's will be staying put in Honolulu, and cabins will be refreshed. It is safe to say that Pualani clad aircraft will remain based in Honolulu, while Chester and Aurora Borealis clad birds will roost back home in Seattle.

That being said, Alaska has unveiled a completely new external livery and cabin in 3 class inside the Dreamliners. So far, it's only the 787's that are getting this new livery, as they are the airline's flagship. It's a neat design that captures the essence of the Aurora Borealis (or Northern Lights to Americans) and will be a definite welcome sight anywhere the 787's alight. The colors also pay a nod to the airline's past liveries of green and blue, and a horizontal stripe that covers a full 1/3 of the fuselage, a nod to Alaska's 1970's and 1980's look.

Inside the big birds, Alaska has planned a Business Class with 34 enclosed suites that are fully lie-flat, 18" screens for in-flight entertainment (a far cry from the portable gadgets Alaska handed out to First Class passengers years ago when they began Transcontinental US and Hawaiian flights), and a privacy door that allows for direct aisle access for every seat.

Aside from the new livery, new routes from Seattle included London/Heathrow and Reykjavik, Iceland. The carrier will offer daily service to London, by far the most sought-after and requested for route for Alaska's highest tiered status passengers and corporate account flyers. According to Cirium Data and the airline itself, the market itself has over 400 travelers daily. With only British Airways and Virgin Atlantic operating flights, it's a no brainer for Alaska to join in the fray and carve out a slice of the pie for itself, and keep Delta out, especially in conjunction with oneworld Alliance partner British Airways operating twice a day.

From what I gathered in the announcement of the route, the new flight will be timed to connect with flights in and around the Pacific Northwest, up into Alaska (including several of the infamous Milk Run flights), and down to the Hawaiian Islands. It will also have favorable connections with Alaska's other oneworld partner American Airlines and its massive system up and down the West Coast and its network in the Southwestern United States.

On the European side, Alaska loyalists can connect to literally every corner of the planet with British Airways, especially within the UK and intra-Europe. Depending on arrival time, this could lead to beautifully timed connections to Africa, Middle Eastern, and Asian flights instead of hopping down to San Francisco or Los Angeles and waiting around all day until you board a flight in the o'dark-thirty hours.

The other new route that was announced was Summer seasonal service from Seattle to Reykjavik, Iceland, probably the most requested route from Alaska's leisure contingent. Seattle has a massive market for the flight, with Icelandair already serving Seattle with it Boeing 737 MAX's, and now with Alaska beginning service with its own Boeing 737-8 MAX. I do wonder if the MAX's will have the premium-seat heavy layout their older Boeing 737-800 brethren do. It will be interesting to see, especially on these Reykjavik flights where the battle for premium leisure passengers reaches a fever pitch in Summer.

It's very heartening to see Alaska grow since it acquired Hawaiian Airlines. Optimizing equipment between Seattle and Honolulu where it makes sense, starting Airbus A330 flights between Seattle and Anchorage to utilize the Airbus' big, cavernous bellies and fill 'em full of cargo, not to mention the passenger deck upstairs, swapping in Hawaiian A321NEO's and A330's instead of Alaska branded 737's on flights to the mainland, testing the long haul waters with new flights from Seattle to Tokyo/Narita, and Seoul/Incheon, and the retrofitting of the 737-800's to a more premium-heavy layout, in order to match up and make equipment swaps with the 737-900's, MAX 9's, and the hopefully soon to join the fleet 737 MAX 10's (if Boeing ever pulls it's head out of it's can and gets around to you, producing and delivering the damn things).

It's not just Seattle that's getting love, either. Ever since Ultra Low-Cost Carrier Avelo Airlines decamped from Burbank to focus solely on East Coast operations, Alaska has announced it will start flying from Hollywood's favorite airport to Pasco, WA; Redmond, and Eugene, OR. Other new services include San Diego to Washington/National (DCA), Phoenix, Sun Valley, ID, and Denver. New services from Santa Ana/Orange County to Spokane, WA; and from Ontario to Boise. Last time I've ever seen the Southern California satellite airports was when Western Airlines initiated flights to all of them from Salt Lake City and the three Bay Area airports in 193 and 1985, respectively. It's good to see these airfields get some love from Alaska, for as much as I truly love LAX, nothing beats the convenience of Burbank, the clean chrome and spaciousness of John Wayne Airport in Orange County, or the gateway to the East Valley through Ontario.

Now, it's not like Alaska is doing this unfettered and unchecked. Delta Air Lines has been bleeding money hand over fist since it opened it's copycat hub in Seattle (kinda reminds me of what American Airlines did to Braniff International at DFW back in the dawn of deregulation, only with better results), and has dumped tons of capacity both domestically and internationally out of Seattle, opening route upon route on top of Alaska's system, and hemorrhaging badly. I remember seeing reports at Delta that network planning and upper management has no problem with the heavy losses as long as the rest of the global network props the operation up. These new advances and hub strengthening by Alaska led Delta to announce similar flights from Seattle to Rome and to Barcelona literally the day after Alaska made their announcement for Rome.

The Travel Genius' Opinion

Alaska Airlines is on the right footing for this new stage of growth. It's taking it cautiously and conscientiously, starting off with the largest and highest demand routes, with up to 17 Boeing 787-9's on order, and A330-200's to fill in for equipment swaps, with London coming online, it will be the fourth long-haul destination, with another 8 or so slated to launch by 2030. If I make care to make a couple of predictions, and these are strictly my own opinion,(I don't know this from anything internal at Alaska Air Group) I can see Manila, Hong Kong, Paris, Stockholm, Helsinki, Madrid, Barcelona, and Osaka within the first eight cities. Most of these connect with other oneworld Alliance carriers.

If Alaska makes their long haul network concrete and raking in the profits, one could hope for more destinations out of Seattle. Secondary markets like Athens, Milan, Brussels, Amsterdam, and Zurich all come to mind. It could happen! Domestically, I'd still love to see more flights and frequencies out of Salt Lake City, New York/JFK, Las Vegas, and Tampa. Again, it could happen! I'd also love to see more Alaska Lounges open up. If I recall correctly, San Diego is getting one, but how about some places like Fairbanks, Chicago/O'Hare, or Las Vegas? Hell, one in Orange County would be smart considering all the route options available from Alaska out of there.

I guess by now you've figured out I'm a fan of Alaska Airlines. I won't lie, I love them. I've had very few issues with them in the 11 years flying as MVP Gold and Gold 75K with them, and whatever issues have arisen, have been dealt with expeditiously and to my satisfaction. They have gone through major transformations to stay competitive, relevant, and still maintain the focus on the customer like no other US carrier can. This transition to a global entity is just the next logical step for them, and I'm all for it.