In a bid to broaden its network, Alaska Airlines, a wholly owned subsidiary of Alaska Air Group ALK, will start a new nonstop service between Seattle and Seoul Incheon. The service will commence on Sept. 12. Flights on this route will be operated by Hawaiian Airlines, which was acquired by Alaska Air last year.
A long-haul, widebody Airbus A330-200 aircraft will operate on the route. The Pacific Northwest will be linked to South Korea via this route as Alaska Air develops the Seattle hub into a new global gateway.
The carrier aims to serve at least 12 nonstop international destinations with widebody aircraft from Seattle by 2030. Daily flights between Seattle and Tokyo Narita will commence on May 12. The company’s Seattle hub is the largest airline hub on the West Coast, serving more than 100 nonstop destinations across North America for convenient travel options and connections.
ALK’s announcement to operate on this route intensifies competition with Delta Air Lines DAL and partner Korean Air, reportedly dominating this route with daily flights operated by utilizing state-of-the-art aircraft, including the Airbus A330-900neo and the Boeing 787-10 Dreamliner.
ALK is not the sole U.S. airline to expand its international network. Earlier this year, JetBlue Airways JBLU launched flights from Manchester-Boston Regional Airport. The company’s daily, year-round service to Orlando International Airport and three-times-weekly, seasonal service to Southwest Florida International Airport in Fort Myers take off from Manchester.
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Delta Air Lines, Inc. (DAL): Free Stock Analysis Report JetBlue Airways Corporation (JBLU): Free Stock Analysis Report Alaska Air Group, Inc. (ALK): Free Stock Analysis ReportThis article originally published on Zacks Investment Research (zacks.com).
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