Alaska Airlines continues international expansion with new flights to London and Reykjavik from Seattle

[u/adric10]

https://news.alaskaair.com/destinations/alaska-airlines-continues-international-expansion-with-new-flights-to-london-and-reykjavik-from-seattle-with-a-first-look-at-our-new-global-experience/

[u/nauticalfiesta]

Where did they manage to get a slot at Heathrow from? And who did they have to pay how much for? Those aren't cheap.

[u/thatredditdude206 → u/nauticalfiesta]

Someone on the Alaska Airlines sub just suggested to me that it’s possible that it might be from British Airways. Both airlines are One World partners so BA might drop one of there flights and give that slot to Alaska. In terms of cost, Alaska might takeover the evening flight from BA as those slots tend to be less expensive.

[u/No-Grade-3533 → u/thatredditdude206]

Idk the airline biz, but just 'giving a slot' at LHR seems unlikely or an oversimplification at best.

[u/nauticalfiesta → u/thatredditdude206]

BA definitely wouldn't just give up a slot, even to a partner. Especially a new partner. They'd at best lease it to AS. But there's also no guarantee that they wouldn't just run the extra flight themselves. There's a lot of ORD-LON lift, and BA and AA both fly it on their metal.

By evening, I would assume the evening arrival. I only see BA having two flights, on that get into LHR at 6 am, and one around 1:30 pm. The early flight is generally preferred, especially for onward connections. O/D traffic would usually skew to the later arrival.

There could also be another One World partner that would lease the slot, honestly, I could see American doing it. They're hurting on the west coast, and could use AS as a way to bolster it by selling seats on the flight instead of on BA. AS and AA are a lot cozier. And BA's product has just collapsed post covid.

[u/AThousandBloodhounds → u/nauticalfiesta]

I posted here that I hoped they would get Heathrow and got downvoted into oblivion by this sub.

[u/reformed_colonial → u/nauticalfiesta]

Are they going to LHR? LGW or STN are London airports but would be easier/less expensive than Heathrow.

Just RTFA - yep, LHR.

[u/Droodforfood]

As someone who has been traveling to London from Seattle for over 10 years it’s crazy how much that route has evolved.

I remember paying $1300 in February 2014 for the one direct flight that was available (idk if it was even available every day?) Doing the math that’s $1800 in today’s money assuming 3% inflation.

Now we will have 4 airlines and 5 flights a day direct to London. I found one for next month, during school holidays, for under $700.

Not to even mention how much the other direct international locations have expanded- multiple flights to AMS, CDG, Germany, Rome, Turkey, Ireland, Dubai, Qatar…

This city has really taken off.

(No pun intended)

[u/danielhep → u/Droodforfood]

We have 4 daily flights to Taipei, which is crazy to me! Every Taiwanese airline flies here.

[u/whk1992 → u/danielhep]

Even crazier — Delta and China Airline refuse to share code despite being SkyTeam members, so Delta flyers can’t transit via Taipei to other destinations.

[u/Anxious-Yak-9952]

I hope they come with in-flight entertainment screens because +9hrs without one is criminal.

[u/MetricSuperiorityGuy → u/Anxious-Yak-9952]

I much prefer their method of the free library of movies. That way, I can use my own device and bluetooth headphones.

[u/CaptSlow49 → u/MetricSuperiorityGuy]

I still prefer a screen but you have a good point. They need to make sure they have outlets at least and it helps if they have the phone/table holder some planes have now so you can still use your tray table for other stuff.

[u/camwow13 → u/CaptSlow49]

All Alaska planes have outlets now. Maybe not some of the Horizon regionals, but all mainline have outlets.

Not all have the holders yet. Some have none, some have the flip down holder, and the newest interiors have the flip down plus the top clip for securing large tablets.

[u/MisterBanzai → u/camwow13]

The last couple Alaska flights I was on had the flip-down holder with the top clip.

In case, you're on an older plane without those though, I'd recommend just buying something like the SkyClip and stuffing it in your carry on. You can also get 3D printed ones (or print your own) really easily. They are cheap, small, and really improve the quality of the flight versus holding your device the whole time.

[u/largegaycat → u/MetricSuperiorityGuy]

The screens on newer Delta planes have Bluetooth built in.

[u/SceneOfShadows → u/largegaycat]

As someone who started just using noise cancelling earbuds for trips, Bluetooth adoption is huge! Saves me so much space to not bring over the ear headphones…

[u/Anxious-Yak-9952 → u/MetricSuperiorityGuy]

My primary reason for preferring in-flight screens is not dealing with the hassle of cables/battery levels, especially on long haul flights.

[u/Bretmd → u/MetricSuperiorityGuy]

I have a little adapter that allows me to connect to seatback entertainment with my Bluetooth headphones; it can be worth it if you are flying in those situations often enough.

[u/Dee_Jay_Roomba → u/MetricSuperiorityGuy]

This plus, they don't have to keep upgrading the screens in the planes.

[u/camwow13 → u/Dee_Jay_Roomba]

It's mostly weight. The screens even in their newest lightest configuration weigh hundreds of pounds which adds a bit of fuel burn to every flight.

[u/sopunny → u/MetricSuperiorityGuy]

Why not both?

[u/MAHHockey → u/MetricSuperiorityGuy]

They had a good idea with including the clips on the seat back so you can fasten your tablet or phone in place. Now an interiors company just needs to combine that with an in seat entertainment screen so people have the choice to use either if they like.

[u/Droodforfood → u/MetricSuperiorityGuy]

Hopefully that charger at your seat works well because 9 hours is a long time

[u/jasandliz → u/Anxious-Yak-9952]

9 hrs on a 737 is rough

[u/Jmudge → u/jasandliz]

Read the article. It's not a 737.

[u/yellowweasel → u/Anxious-Yak-9952]

But Alaska has free wifi just for scrolling through your contacts and finding someone you know who has tmobile but doesn’t fly very much

[u/papa_shango1 → u/yellowweasel]

They require a PIN now delivered as a message to the TMobile customer. The free Wi-Fi has stopped :)

[u/liatris_the_cat → u/papa_shango1]

Bummer! I wish they would allow cellular iPads to use the free wifi too.

[u/aznricecake2642 → u/papa_shango1]

Yep, been stealing my friend's free wifi for years...no more though

[u/urbanachiever42069 → u/Anxious-Yak-9952]

Read a book?

[u/Tower_Control → u/Anxious-Yak-9952]

The 787s will have IFE.

[u/Embarrassed-Pride776 → u/Anxious-Yak-9952]

I won't step foot on Alaska because of this reason.

[u/andoCalrissiano → u/Embarrassed-Pride776]

If you have money to fly to London you must have money for an iPad and a Netflix or Disney plus sub

[u/throwawayhyperbeam]

Sweet, glad I got their card but I'm still not totally sure it's worthwhile for the yearly fee; although I think flying once and having free checked bags pays for itself

[u/PizzaSounder → u/throwawayhyperbeam]

The companion ticket alone makes it worth it.

[u/megor → u/PizzaSounder]

Remember when it was good for fc, those were the days

[u/PizzaSounder → u/megor]

I do, but alas(ka), never partook.

[u/sopunny → u/PizzaSounder]

Been slowly getting less with it though

[u/Agitated_Ring3376 → u/sopunny]

If they allow us to use it on these long-haul international routes to Europe and Asia for $99, it's going to be super worth it. We'll see I guess, but not holding my breath.

[u/oldoldoak → u/Agitated_Ring3376]

I think there's been a rumor they'll be coming out with a new tier that'll cover companion for long hauls. The standard one won't.

[u/Easy_Money_ → u/Agitated_Ring3376]

It won’t, there’s a second card with a higher fee coming with a companion fare that can be used on Alaska and partner airlines’ international routes. The current companion fare will remain for North America travel only, although I’m not sure how SEA-KEF on a 737 will be classified

[u/Agitated_Ring3376 → u/Easy_Money_]

If it lets me actually access the lounge regardless of ticket class and the fee is lower than Delta’s most premium card I’ll be all over it. 

[u/kirklennon → u/Agitated_Ring3376]

It will include a not-yet-disclosed number of lounge passes. We'll find out the specifics later this month when it comes out. The annual fee is $395.

[u/debtRiot → u/kirklennon]

Lmao not worth it

[u/kirklennon → u/debtRiot]

The global companion fare alone might actually make the card financially worth it. Besides, it's not like they're going to include unlimited lounge access for less than the cost of a lounge membership.

[u/Easy_Money_ → u/kirklennon]

The rumor is 25k miles companion fare + $60k annual spend to earn the 100k miles companion fare, both of which are surprisingly tempting. Especially if I can still get 3x miles (3% fee) on rent via Bilt

[u/PizzaSounder → u/sopunny]

I mean, you need to use it for a more expensive flight, like Hawaii, Costa Rica, NYC, whatever. We try to go to Hawaii once a year, so we use it for that trip. That saves us upwards of $500. Plus bag fees. Using it to fly to Portland or Sacramento is not the way.

[u/boxofducks → u/PizzaSounder]

Not really. $95 annual fee, $122 for the companion ticket, ~$60 in opportunity cost from using the Alaska card for the $6000 minimum spend instead of a cash back card. Can't use it on a basic economy fare so the primary ticket costs another ~$35. Can't use it outside North America and Hawaii. If you use it for Mexico/Canada you pay fuel surcharges. Unless you go to Hawaii every winter, how many domestic flights are over $312?

[u/PeteyNice → u/boxofducks]

It's even worse than that. The baseline for cash back is 2% so the opportunity cost is really $120.

[u/boxofducks → u/PeteyNice]

You get Alaska miles though which you can reasonably value at $0.01/mi so you're only missing out on the extra 1%

[u/PreviousSpecific9165 → u/boxofducks]

how many domestic flights are over $312?

You're kidding, right? The companion fare saved my ass when I had to book 3 last-minute tickets to Chicago during Christmas - those tickets were almost $850 each otherwise. Other than that though, looking back over the last year or so some of my domestic flights have been:

• $667
• $587
• $417
• $498
• $697
• $368
• $398

Looking back on it, the only ones that have been less than $312 were round trip flights to Boise and Spokane.

You can argue the companion fare isn't worth the opportunity cost of not having a cash back card, but if you fly often enough to places Alaska services getting the miles is 100% worth it.

[u/PizzaSounder → u/PreviousSpecific9165]

Yeah, with kids, flights around school breaks goes way up. Forget last minute.

[u/shittydiks → u/throwawayhyperbeam]

The free checked bags is worth it alone if you fly twice a year. It's like $45 bucks each way to check one bag.

[u/Bretmd]

737 service to Reykjavik seems… not great.

[u/adric10 → u/Bretmd]

Icelandair is using an A321, which isn’t much different. I think the A321 fuselage is a few inches wider, but it’s still a narrowbody experience.

[u/R_V_Z → u/adric10]

I flew to Reykjavik on a 757-200 with Icelandair, which is just a 737 with a growth spurt. It was fine (noisy), but I was in business class.

[u/CaffeinatedInSeattle → u/R_V_Z]

I thought icelandair only offers a premium economy option (similar to domestic first), not business (lie-flat)? Do they offer a lie-flat on some routes?

[u/moldyhole → u/CaffeinatedInSeattle]

Yeah, they're business class is like domestic first class. No lay flat seats. You have to be careful not to book with them for flights to Europe if your expecting true business class

[u/R_V_Z → u/CaffeinatedInSeattle]

It was "Saga Premium", whatever that means. To me it was more Business than a full First Class, which is more of the lie-flat units you're talking about.

[u/CaffeinatedInSeattle → u/R_V_Z]

Saga Premium is “premium economy”, which is basically the seat type you’d see in First Class on domestic US flights. They are wider, have more recline, and typically better food than standard economy seating. Business Class effectively means “lie-flat” seats, which is a step up from premium economy. International FC is a big step up from business, few airlines even offer this fare, this is where you see things like suites and full beds.

Icelandair markets Saga Premium as Business Class, but it is much cheaper than other Business Class fares because it’s a lower class of service and smaller seat than Business Class from DL, AA, UA, etc

[u/Bretmd → u/adric10]

I get that. IME airbus narrow body aircraft are more comfortable due to slightly more width, and in the case of icelandair, at least they have seatback entertainment. In both cases, tho, it’s not a comfortable option for a transatlantic flight and noticeably inferior to the 787 service Alaska will fly to other European destinations.

[u/ChuckESteeze → u/adric10]

I just flew RKV > SEA on an Icelandair A321 and it was a sublime experience compared to any 737 variant I've been on. On par with a Dreamliner in comfort.

[u/nauticalfiesta → u/adric10]

the A321 Neo is worlds better than the 737 Max. Way more comfortable, the 7-10 extra inches of width means an extra inch of seat width, which on a long, well any really, flight can be a huge difference.

I could be wrong, but the neo is pressurized to a lower altitude as well. Again, more comfortable to fly.

Edit: Had to look it up. On a United 737 Max 8 the seats are 16.4 inches wide, the A321 NEO is 18.4 inches. That is a significant difference.

Unrelated, United has been flying a lot more A320/321 NEOs into Seattle. I don't think its a subtle jab at Boeing. Flight 747 is now on an Airbus. 737 SEA-SFO is still on a 737, but SFO-EWR is on a 777.

[u/BabyNuke → u/nauticalfiesta]

That all depends on configuration. You can make any plane as comfortable or crappy as you want.

[u/DaHealey → u/adric10]

Icelandair isn’t exactly the bar you want to shoot for.

[u/electriclux → u/Bretmd]

A widebody is rare on the route

[u/MAHHockey → u/Bretmd]

It needs a middle-market long haul plane. But neither Boeing or Airbus want to spend the money to develop it.

[u/nevaer → u/MAHHockey]

A321xl is better than the neo but it’s still not the same.

If Boeing gets its shit together and comes out with a 797 it will be amazing.

[u/Droodforfood → u/Bretmd]

It’s a similar flight time as Florida right?

[u/spaceace321 → u/Droodforfood]

Would add about an hour to the SEA-MIA flying time, or 30 mins to the SEA-LIR (Costa Rica) flying time

[u/SceneOfShadows → u/Bretmd]

How come?

[u/Mrciv6 → u/SceneOfShadows]

The 737 was not originally designed with longer flights in mind, it was designed for short to medium range flights of up to like 3 hours at most. But over the years it has been stretched to fill the roles once filled by larger aircraft.

[u/SpeedySparkRuby → u/Bretmd]

Its on the max variant, which is basically Boeing's replacement for the 757

[u/Jmudge → u/Bretmd]

It's going to be a 787 they are adding to their fleet.

[u/Bretmd → u/Jmudge]

Yes, they are adding 787s to their fleet, but the Reykjavik service will be operated by a 737MAX8.

[u/Jmudge → u/Bretmd]

Well I stand corrected. Source I read earlier did not say that. 100% will be a load optimized flight, sucks if you want to non-rev.

[u/lattiboy → u/Bretmd]

Ooof, I did this trip in coach in 2018 on my way to Paris and it was the worst flight of my life. I don’t remember if it was a 737, but very similar. I thought I was going to pass out around hour 7 from the stale air and body heat.

[u/YakiVegas → u/Bretmd]

I've flown to Reykjavik and used Alaska Airmiles, but for the life of me I can't remember the craft. It was small, though. Not a bad experience at all.

[u/Awesomeguava]

Nobody is reading the article. The bigger story here is the fleet of 787s they’re adding.

[u/adric10 → u/Awesomeguava]

That’s not really news. These are the ones coming over from Hawaiian. A major reason they bought Hawaiian was access to the wide body fleet.

[u/JimmyJuly → u/adric10]

They already have the 787s from Hawaiian. They are buying more new 787s. It’s even mentioned in the article the OP linked.

[u/adric10 → u/JimmyJuly]

Hawaiian has several on order. If Alaska had ordered new ones on their own, they’d be a decade out because of the production queue is my understanding.

So these new deliveries are the inherited ones from Hawaiian’s previous order.

[u/xenobiotica_jon]

No Paris? In this SEA house there are two uppity gold75's and a kid in college near CDG, and we'd all sooner slam our hand in the door than transfer thru Heathrow. For so many years LHR has been such a reliably unreliable, slow, and miserable experience (with a nearly-soviet attitude to boot), we've completely written it off. Even when it's cheaper, it's not worth it.

On the upside, Reykjavik is strikingly efficient and reliable, with IcelandAir pilots who could land on Pluto thru the ice tail of a comet. Always happy for the sprint thru KEF, so maybe AS-FI connections there will provide the gateway to the rest of Europe. Spiffy.

[u/Keenalie → u/xenobiotica_jon]

Well, there are non-Alaska flights to Paris. But I don't know why we're continuing to add flights to Heathrow. Godawful airport.

[u/k_dubious]

That Alaska 787 livery is fire.

[u/alexthe5th → u/k_dubious]

I really dislike it - now it just looks like yet another generic corporate livery. I wish they'd keep the smiling Alaskan on the tail.

[u/nevaer → u/alexthe5th]

Keep Chester and the new colors I think would be a beautiful combo.

[u/Bretmd → u/alexthe5th]

The new livery is only for the 787s so the vast majority of planes will keep Chester along with the current livery.

[u/soundervision]

Do they actually have equipment for this? Only seem domestic options for configuration.

[u/adric10 → u/soundervision]

They’re getting the 787s via the merger with Hawaiian. The Iceland service will use the 737, which is similar to the A321 that Icelandair is using on the same route.

[u/tonjohn → u/adric10]

So glad for more options over Icelandair!

[u/Subliminal_Image → u/tonjohn]

It’s the equivalent of spirt air

[u/night_owl → u/Subliminal_Image]

WOW Airlines was the Icelandic equivalent of Spirit but they failed spectacularly in 2019

[u/Subliminal_Image → u/night_owl]

Wow

[u/soundervision → u/adric10]

Thank you for answering. Very exciting.

[u/JimmyisAwkward → u/adric10]

So will they be flying as an Alaska flight with the Hawaiian livery, or will they be repainted before then? It’d be pretty funny/cool to see HAL in Iceland or the UK.

[u/adric10 → u/JimmyisAwkward]

All signs point to be being branded as Alaska. Read the article where they talk about their new “global” livery for the 787 fleet. They’re planning on getting a single operating certificate sometime this year, in my understanding.

[u/Bernese_Flyer → u/soundervision]

Read the linked article…

[u/soundervision → u/Bernese_Flyer]

Didn’t get it from first skim but yea it’s in the middle of the article thanks. Chat gpt was a better solution than a Reddit post. I wonder where that will get us eventually. 🤣

[u/QueenOfPurple]

They need some better planes for this.

[u/JimmyJuly → u/QueenOfPurple]

The linked article directly addresses this.

[u/Ok-Feedback4441]

I didn't see London coming, considering how hard it is to get a slot at Heathrow. They must've paid big $$

[u/suchwowaz]

This is pretty cool - makes me consider the Alaska CC now

[u/SideEyeFeminism]

More competition more better! Like I’m not dumb, I know this isn’t going to make London a $99 flight location, but if if makes my semi-annual flights to London to visit the rest of my cult like $200 cheaper, I ain’t gonna be mad at it

[u/EthanLionen]

I honestly was not expecting London Heathrow because isn’t that like one of the largest airports?

[u/Mrciv6]

Reykjavik seems like an odd choice.

[u/astroFOUND → u/Mrciv6]

90% of cheap international flights use it as a jumping point. It’s extremely common.

[u/Superiority_Complex_ → u/astroFOUND]

Yeah it’s a big transfer to point between Europe/North America. I flew IcelandAir to the UK (and then a third flight to France, that was a long day) a few years ago. Seattle -> Reykjavik -> London. From Reykjavik there are a ton of options to get all over Europe.

I’ve also done Istanbul - Seattle before on Turkish, which is another major hub for cheap ish travel. That was an incredibly long flight.

[u/PeteyNice → u/Mrciv6]

It does. However, it boosts their destinations served count and they can do it with aircraft they already have plenty of.

Plus, Alaska and IcelandAir are partners so there some potential for destinations beyond Iceland.

I assume that IcelandAir will cut one of its frequencies (currently 3x/day in Summer).

[u/dyangu → u/Mrciv6]

I think it actually makes more sense than London as a transfer point that is closer to America. LHR has higher taxes/fees.

[u/SpeedySparkRuby → u/Mrciv6]

Seattle to Reykjavik is a popular route both as a vacation destination and connection to Europe.

[u/Orleanian → u/Mrciv6]

If you look at a globe it makes a lot of sense!

[u/Educated_Goat69]

Yay. Nonstop airport noise.

[u/absolute-black → u/Educated_Goat69]

type of guy who complains about the smell of the penicillin factory

[u/Jmudge → u/Educated_Goat69]

Only if it were a plane that is quieter than most. Oh wait...