Alaska Airlines takes over Hawaiian's A330s to serve Asia

Visit merger between Alaska Airlines and Hawaiian Airlines enables Alaska to expand its international network. As of May 12, 2025Alaska will launch daily flights between Seattle and Tokyofollowed by a link to Seoul in October 2025. These routes will be operated with A330-200 configured for 278 passengers. This operation is designed to strengthen connections between the American West, Asia and the Hawaiian Islands, while improving connections from East coast and the Midwest. The ultimate goal is to reach twelve non-stop destinations worldwide by the end of the year. 2030.

The year 2025 will mark a major turning point in the American aerospace industry. Alaska Airlines has announced the acquisition of a fleet of Airbus A330-200s from Hawaiian Airlines to launch new routes to Asia. Scheduled for May 12, 2025, this ambitious project will see the creation of a new route between Seattle Tacoma and Tokyo NaritaThis will enable Alaska Airlines to expand into the Asian market with a high-capacity aircraft.

Another step towards transpacific domination

As part of this strategic expansion, Alaska Airlines will benefit from Hawaiian's 24 A330s already in operation. These aircraft, offering 278 seats each, will play a key role in establishing a presence on transpacific routes from one of the West Coast's major hubs, Seattle. This step is in line with the group's goal of operating 12 long-haul non-stop routes from Seattle by 2030, including previously untapped destinations.

Expanding connectivity between Hawaii and Japan

The acquisition of the A330s enables Alaska Airlines to reorganize its routes, increasing frequency between Honolulu and the main Japanese airports. The flight between Honolulu and Tokyo Haneda will increase from 12 to 14 per week. This strategic change responds to the strong demand for business and leisure travel in this popular air corridor, while adapting to the region's connectivity needs.

Optimizing connections on the U.S. West Coast

The collaboration between Alaska Airlines and Hawaiian also improves domestic connections to Hawaii from the West Coast. By increasing seat capacity by 25% on certain routes from Portland, and introducing staggered departures, the passenger experience is optimized. The group also plans to introduce night flights between Honolulu and cities such as Portland and San Francisco, strengthening its network across the country.

Maximizing A330 utilization

To meet growing demand during Alaska's peak summer season, Alaska Airlines will direct Airbus A330s on the Seattle-Anchorage route. With their enhanced passenger and freight capacity, these aircraft are ideally suited to meet the logistical needs of both airlines.

Inauguration of new routes to the islands from San Francisco

With a scheduled start in June 2025, Alaska Airlines will expand its flights to Hawaii from San Francisco, directed to Kona and Līhuʻe. These new routes will be the first in a series of developments, aimed at strengthening accessibility to the islands from the US mainland.

This merger of talents and resources between Alaska Airlines and Hawaiian Airlines promises many innovations. Find out more about the latest developments concerning expansion of Finnair's network to the United StatesSee our online articles.

Alaska Airlines uses Hawaiian A330s for Asia

Features	Detail
Aircraft type	A330-200
Start date of operations	May 12, 2025
Starting point	Seattle Tacoma
Destinations in Asia	Tokyo Narita
Other destination planned	Seoul
Aircraft capacity	278 passengers
Cabin configuration	18 in Business, 260 in Economics
Number of A330s in fleet	24 aircraft
Enhanced connectivity	In partnership with Japan Airlines
Other hubs involved	Midwest and East Coast

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