Alaska Airlines is stretching its wings across the Atlantic again, announcing new nonstop seasonal flights from Seattle to Athens and Paris that will become the carrier's sixth and seventh long-haul international routes out of Seattle-Tacoma International Airport. The Athens route, set to begin May 12, 2027, will be Alaska's longest-ever flight, clocking in at more than 13 hours and making Alaska the first airline to offer nonstop service between Seattle and the Greek capital, according to the company. The Paris route follows on May 25, 2027, running through October.
Longest Route Yet Targets High Demand
The Athens flight will operate three times a week to Athens International Airport, while the Paris route will run five times a week into Charles de Gaulle Airport, both flown on Alaska's Boeing 787-9 Dreamliners. As reported by The Seattle Times, Eric Edge of Alaska said the airline selected the new routes partly based on customer demand, noting that Paris and Athens are among the cities most requested and searched for by Alaska customers. Tickets are already on sale, and Edge said more international routes are planned, with Athens and Paris standing out as the most in-demand cities among them.
The flight numbers carry a bit of local flavor, too. The Seattle Times notes that Athens-bound flight AS196 nods to the city's role as birthplace of the modern Olympic Games in 1896, while the Paris flight, AS136, references the French capital's 136 museums. Edge also called Alaska's growth momentum exciting, framing the new routes as part of a broader expansion, per the same account.
From Regional Carrier to Global Contender
The push into Athens and Paris builds directly on Alaska's 2024 acquisition of Hawaiian Airlines, which brought a fleet of widebody planes and new resources into Alaska Air Group, according to the Seattle Times. That group now includes Alaska, Hawaiian, Horizon Air and McGee Air Services. Since announcing its global-gateway plan in December 2024, Alaska has added seven new intercontinental routes in under two years, including earlier nonstop flights from Seattle to Tokyo-Narita, Seoul, London, Rome and Reykjavik — with the Tokyo-Narita route arriving in 2025.
Alaska's transatlantic ambitions first took flight in April 2026, when the carrier launched daily seasonal 787-9 service from Seattle to Rome, marking its first-ever transatlantic route and its debut flying widebody jets under the Alaska brand, as Hoodline reported. London Heathrow and Reykjavik nonstops followed shortly after. Alaska has said it plans to introduce at least 12 new long-haul routes by 2030, part of a strategy to remake itself from a regional West Coast carrier into a true global airline.
Delta Fires Back at Sea-Tac
The expansion sets up a direct fight with Delta Air Lines for international passengers flying through Sea-Tac. Alaska and Delta are engaged in that competition already, and per the Seattle Times, Delta currently holds the second-highest share of passengers at the airport. Alaska's dominance is broader on the domestic side: in 2025, Alaska carried 22.44 million travelers through Sea-Tac for a 42.6 percent market share, compared with Delta's 10.39 million travelers and 19.7 percent share, according to Road Genius.
Delta isn't ceding the skies quietly. The carrier announced plans this month to restart daily nonstop service from Seattle to Tokyo Narita in March 2027, ending a seven-year absence from that route, according to Aviation Week. Delta had previously consolidated its Seattle-Tokyo flying at Haneda Airport back in 2020 before reversing course to add Narita back into the mix.
New Suites, New Sponsor, New Growing Pains
Alaska has also been upgrading its premium cabin experience to match its global aspirations. In March, the airline unveiled its first-ever International Business Class Suites for the 787-9 fleet, featuring 34 lie-flat seats with sliding privacy doors and 18-inch HD screens, according to Alaska Airlines. Off the runway, the carrier announced a new multiyear partnership with Seahawks quarterback Sam Darnold, who will appear in Alaska commercials and billboards. Select flights will be renamed Flight 1414, a nod to Darnold's jersey number, and passengers on those flights will automatically receive 1,414 Atmos Rewards points. Darnold said the partnership celebrates Seattle and its people, per the Seattle Times.
But the rapid buildout hasn't come without friction. The Association of Flight Attendants-CWA filed a formal grievance against Alaska in August, alleging that the carrier's new long-haul 787-9 flights out of Seattle are understaffed in the Main Cabin, according to Simple Flying. Flight attendants who joined through the Hawaiian merger are reportedly working under legacy contract terms while handling elevated economy service demands on the widebody routes.
Alaska's long-haul fleet has also had at least one rough moment in the air. In July, an Alaska 787-9 flying the Seattle-Rome route suffered an in-flight emergency shortly after takeoff and was forced to dump fuel in a holding pattern before returning safely to Rome, as Hoodline reported in its piece on the midair scare over Rome. No injuries were reported. Alaska Air Group has also been reshuffling aircraft across its combined brands, including retiring Hawaiian's Boeing 717 fleet for Hawaiian-branded 737-800s starting in 2028, freeing up widebody resources for the kind of global expansion now underway out of Seattle.
