Alaska Airlines and Hawaiian Airlines have undergone major changes in flights between Seattle and Tokyo.
Starting from January, the Hawaiian will be the beautiful new Boeing 787 Dreamliner in Hawaii, operating the route between Seattle Tacoma International Airport (SEA) and NARITA Airport (NRT).
For travelers flying between the two cities, this is an upgrade of the Hawaiian’s old Airbus A330 currently flying between the Pacific Northwest and Japan: This transformation will be exchanged in a new, state-of-the-art cabin and found a new suite of old products on Hawaiian’s old products, which are old Hawaiian products.
It will also provide Alaska Airlines Group, the parent company of Alaska and Hawaiians, with Seattle’s chief rival Delta Air Lines on these transPacific flights.
But that’s not good news for every Hawaiian route: A spokesperson confirmed that the airline will move one of its existing Dreamliners to another route to upgrade Sea-NRT.
A trans-Pacific upgrade
Alaska and Hawaiians merged late last year and quickly announced plans to launch a global portal in Seattle, Alaska’s base.
I was in May, airlines launched their long-distance era on the Hawaiian-run Tokyo service.
It’s an exciting time for the company, though, and the A330 driving route is definitely not the star of the show itself, with older seats and a 2x2x2 configuration in the business-grade cabin, which is much less attractive than the Hawaiians who debuted last year in its brand new Dreamlaners brand new Dreamliners.
But those things will change immediately in 2026, the company said Tuesday.
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Between early January and mid-April, passengers flying between Seattle and Narita will have the Hawaiian Dream equipped with 34 Leihoku suites featuring sliding private doors – not to mention the overall update experience in the main cabin.
A brand new experience
Alaska and Hawaiians did not share flight plans for the Tokyo route after April.
That might be design.
Earlier this spring, I reported that the company plans to unveil a brand new flagship international experience with long-distance travel routes.
Alaska CEO Ben Minicucci told me that the program is for all long-distance international routes in Seattle (including one in Tokyo) and run by Alaska (not Hawaiian).
It is not clear when Alaska will take over Tokyo flights from its new sister airline, but hopefully the route will see more changes in the new form of onboard experience.
Alaska has announced that it will start running Dreamliner flights to Rome from May 2026.
Book a Hawaiian Dreamliner to Tokyo
Meanwhile, if you want to book a Hawaii operating flight between Seattle and Tokyo early next year using points and miles, you have a few options:
Remember, for the moment, you can still move miles seamlessly between your mileage plan and Hawaiian Millenn account.
New loyalty program next month
However, loyalty to these newly merged airlines is also great. In the coming weeks, Alaska Air Group plans to announce a new joint loyalty program that will serve both airlines.
It can be said that this is a period of great changes in Alaska and Hawaiians, and more developments are in the scope.
Hawaiians add extra winter flights
Hawaiians also added domestic and international flights to and from the Honolulu base during peak winter seasons.
Changes include:
· Daily services from Honolulu to Sydney, Australia are higher than five round trips a week between December 18 and January 31, 2026.
·The fifth daily flight between Honolulu and Los Angeles International Airport (LAX) during the peak Thanksgiving (November 21-December 1) and the winter holidays (December 19-January 6).
·The fourth Hawaiian operating flight is held every day, between late November and April, and between Honolulu and Seattle. This is the top of Alaska’s two round trips a day.
“We are excited to offer guests more options to connect with loved ones or enjoy a warm winter vacation,” Kirsten Amrine, vice president of revenue management and networking programs at Alaska said in a statement Tuesday.
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