Alaska Airlines has announced the start date for its first flights to Europe, with tickets on sale now.
The Seattle-based airline revealed it will launch new nonstop service between the Pacific Northwest and Rome on April 28, 2026.
The flights will usher in a new era of Alaskan transatlantic service that the airline has been planning since acquiring Hawaiian Airlines last year.
Alaska Airlines also shared some details on Thursday about the “soft product” offerings it will offer on its future long-haul international service, including access to the Alaska Lounge for passengers who book its lie-flat business class seats.
“These new routes mark a major step in our global expansion and demonstrate our commitment to delivering a premium international experience from Seattle,” Alaska Airlines Chief Commercial Officer Andrew Harrison said in a statement Thursday.
Details: Alaska Airlines launches new Rome flights
It’s been a few months since Alaska Airlines first announced Rome’s Fiumicino Leonardo da Vinci Airport (FCO) as its first European destination from its Seattle-Tacoma International Airport (SEA) headquarters.
RELATED: How to Get Alaska Airlines Elite Status with Just One Card
But on Thursday, the airline finally revealed full itinerary details and said the flights would actually operate every day (rather than just four times a week) during the peak summer season.
Here’s how flight schedules will be adjusted:
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- SEA-FCO: Departs at 5:30 pm and arrives at 1:15 pm (both local times)
- FCO-SEA: Departs at 3:25 pm and arrives at 5:45 pm (both local times)
These Italian flights are seasonal during the summer, so you’ll see the service running through October.
Boeing 787-9 Dreamliner in Alaska
There are a lot of novelties about the aircraft Alaska will fly on its new European routes. After all, the airline has been operating a fleet entirely of single-aisle aircraft for years.
But starting in 2026, Alaska will fly Boeing 787-9 Dreamliners on its long-haul international routes from Seattle, including these Rome flights, wearing a new global Alaska brand livery.
These are the beautiful new Dreamliners that Hawaiian will debut in 2024, with more on order ahead of the merger.
The aircraft features 34 business class suites with sliding privacy doors arranged in a 1-2-1 layout.
Keep in mind that as part of the airline’s new Atmos rewards program, top Titanium Elite members will receive a free upgrade to these seats (pending availability, of course). They do not need to redeem upgrade certificates or points.
Alaska Airlines will rename Hawaiian Airlines’ Extra Comfort (extra legroom) seats to “Premium.”
Read more: Alaska Airlines plans global expansion with help from Portland, San Diego and Atmos Rewards
But we should point out that while these planes are generally state-of-the-art, they don’t have true premium economy cabins.
Notably, these Boeing 787s will also bring seatback screens to the Alaskan experience – something not found on Boeing 737s.
All of Hawaiian’s existing 787 aircraft (as well as those on order from Alaska Airlines Group) will eventually receive Alaska Airlines branding.
Hawaiian continues to operate under its own brand and will use its legacy Airbus A330 aircraft on its long-haul routes, although Alaska Airlines executives have pledged to upgrade the aircraft’s cabins, including premium economy, over the next few years.
New global “soft” products
Alaska Airlines has been building a new global experience for its international service for months. This was necessary because the airline previously had no real long-haul flights to speak of.
Business class passengers on Alaska Airlines’ transatlantic and transpacific flights can use the Alaska Lounge before departure.
Read more: Alaska Airlines enters intercontinental era with first direct flights to Asia, operated by Hawaiian Airlines
On board, the airline will partner with a handful of brands to offer amenities, with a focus on the West Coast.
Food, beverage and amenity partners include Salt and Straw, Straightaway Cocktails, Stumptown Coffee, Filson (business class bedding and coach blankets) and Salt & Stone.
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Sean Cudahy/Scoring Expert
At the risk of sounding like I’m doing a product plug (I’m not!), I tasted the Alaskan Stampton blend after visiting the company’s Seattle headquarters earlier this year—and it was a definite winner for this coffee connoisseur.
Booking
Alaska plans to launch Seattle-Rome flights starting at $599 round-trip, which would be a bargain between the West Coast and Europe.
Here’s what I found out about the fare for next August.
But keep in mind that you may also see higher prices during some of the peak tourist dates in the spring and summer.
I found that Atmos Rewards offers prices starting as low as 35,000 points for one-way economy class bookings. However, on many of the dates I checked, incentive pricing was also much higher than that.
In some cases, you can still find more competitive pricing on Atmos Rewards through American Airlines’ partner redemptions – of course, there’s the hurdle of having to connect rather than fly nonstop.
Keep in mind that Alaska prices its Atmos Rewards redemption rates via a fixed rewards chart. However, these are “starting” prices: Once standard award space is filled, airlines often offer higher-priced awards as an alternative to simply blocking any further award bookings. This was indeed the case with many business class redemptions I checked.
As Alaska Airlines continues to expand its global long-haul network, we’ll wait and see how the Atmos Rewards award space and pricing plays out.
READ MORE: Alaska Airlines’ valuable points and rewards chart for surviving Atmos Rewards: ‘Not trying to cheat anyone’
Next
Alaska is expected to sell flights to London Heathrow (LHR) soon. These flights will operate year-round.
The airline will also launch non-stop service to Iceland using the Boeing 737 MAX 8 in 2026.
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