Alaska Airlines to Launch Europe Flights Using Hawaiian Airlines Fleet by 2026
Alaska Airlines (AS, Seattle Tacoma International) will continue to expand its long-haul network from Seattle Tacoma International on widebody aircraft leased from subsidiary Hawaiian Airlines (HA, Honolulu), and hopes to launch its first European route in 2026, chief executive officer Ben Minicucci said to the Seattle Times.
The expansion is one step beyond the new Seattle to Seoul Incheon services, which launched on May 12, 2025, and to Seoul Incheon, which start in September 2025. They will be flown by Hawaiian Airlines on its A330-200s and under its ‘HA’ code. But Hawaiian Airlines had previously served the two cities from Honolulu, and has extensive experience flying to Asia. Consequently, neither of the airlines has ever operated to Europe.
Minicucci did not disclose the first European destination.
Alaska Airlines said it plans to serve 12 long-haul destinations out of Seattle by 2030.
The merger of the two airlines following the acquisition of Hawaiian Holdings by Alaska Air Group allows the Seattle-based carrier to quickly and relatively easily enter the long-haul market. Alaska Airlines itself has never operated widebody aircraft.
Meanwhile, Hawaiian Airlines brought twenty-four A330-200s and three B787-9s to the combined passenger fleet. It has a further nine B787s on order from Boeing (three via Boeing Capital) and expects to take two in 2025, two in 2026, three in 2027, and the remaining two in 2028. Despite the growing B787 fleet, the group has no plans to retire any A330s until at least the end of 2027, according to a recent financial report.
The A330s will remain based out of Honolulu, while at least some of the B787s will be maintained at an as-of-yet undisclosed base on the US West Coast, Minicucci confirmed.
Hawaiian currently deploys the three B787s exclusively between Hawai’i and the US mainland, connecting Honolulu with Los Angeles International and New York JFK. Concurrently, the A330s fly both to the mainland and to international destinations in Asia and the Pacific region.
Alaska Airlines Group plans to obtain a single operating certificate for both airlines by the end of 2025, although it will retain the two separate brands due to their local recognition.
“[Hawaiian’s] brand is just too special. It has a lot of equity and value, especially in the state of Hawaii. I am convinced that brand is there forever,” Minicucci said.
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