Tl;dr – This week Alaska announced its second and third cross Atlantic routes (beginning 2026).
Yesterday, while logging into the Alaska mobile app to redeem Mileage Plan miles for a Starlux flight, I saw the following notice:
Beginning in Spring 2026, Alaska will operate nonstop service between Seattle and London (LHR), as well as Seattle and Reykjavik, Iceland (KEF). A Boeing 787-9 Dreamliner will service the London flights.
This is a significant development for the Seattle-based carrier, and it comes after the airline announced direct flights to Rome (also beginning in 2026). In the past, I’ve written about how Alaska (particularly after its merger with Hawaiian) is the key to the oneworld Alliance winning the Pacific market. Alaska is seemingly always in the news as of late, mainly for good reasons, and judging by the company’s financial performance, the market seems to have taken notice as well. Over the last year, Alaska stock is up 60%, second among major US airlines. (Somehow, United Airlines is up 130%?).
A bigger question I have is: Might we be seeing the early changing of the guard here? Could Alaska Airlines overtake American Airlines as Il Padrino of the oneworld Alliance?
To be clear, Alaska is significantly smaller than America on various metrics. American Airlines flies to over 350 destinations; Alaska flies to just over 140. America has over 1000 planes; Alaska has about ⅓ that number. While Alaska does numbers in terms of cargo, it has a long way to go to catch up to its alliance-mate. That said, in terms of execution, a cohesive global strategy – including winning on both corporate finance and exhibiting a clear vision for growth and customer retention- one has to wonder if Alaska is the carrier better positioned to carry the oneworld Alliance to its next phase.
At a minimum, one would imagine Alaska will have a larger, louder voice when it comes to partnership strategy, codeshare partnerships, future aairlinemembers, and other oneworld alliance happenings going forth.
