Seattle-Based Carrier Enters Competitive Transatlantic Market with Dreamliner Service
Alaska Airlines is preparing to make aviation history on May 21, 2026, when it operates its first-ever transatlantic flight from Seattle-Tacoma International Airport to London Heathrow. The daily year-round service will be flown using Boeing 787-9 Dreamliner aircraft, marking a transformative moment for a carrier that has traditionally focused on domestic and short-haul international routes along the West Coast and to Hawaii.
The move into the transatlantic market was made possible by Alaska's acquisition of landing slots at Heathrow, one of the world's most slot-constrained airports. The airline secured 14 daily slots leased from its oneworld alliance partner American Airlines, giving it sufficient capacity for daily round-trip service between Seattle and one of Europe's busiest gateways.
Alaska's 787-9 features 288 seats in a two-class configuration with 79 extra-legroom seats and 187 standard economy seats arranged in a 3-3-3 layout. The airline will compete directly with Delta Air Lines and Virgin Atlantic, both of which already offer daily Seattle-London service using Airbus A330-900neo widebodies. Alaska can also count on feed from British Airways, which operates twice-daily Heathrow departures as a fellow oneworld member.
London is just one piece of Alaska's European ambitions for 2026. The carrier will also launch seasonal service from Seattle to Reykjavik Keflavik and Rome Fiumicino, turning its Pacific Northwest hub into a dual-direction long-haul gateway. These routes leverage the 787 fleet that Alaska inherited and expanded following its integration of the former Virgin America and subsequent widebody orders.
Source: Simple Flying
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