Alaska Air's Arm to Launch New Flights for Boosting Connectivity

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 Rome. The service will commence in May 2026. Tickets for the new nonstop route will be available at alaskaair.com and hawaiianairlines.com, starting in fall 2025.

Flights on the Seattle–Rome route will be operated by Alaska Airlines through a Boeing 787-9 Dreamliner.

This announcement places Rome as the third widebody international route served out of Alaska's global gateway in Seattle after Tokyo Narita, which was launched on May 12, and Seoul Incheon, which will commence on Sept. 12.

Notably, ALK is transforming Seattle into the West Coast's new premier global gateway while working on its "Alaska Accelerate," a three-year strategic plan aimed at delivering $1 billion in incremental profit following the combination with Hawaiian Airlines. ALK’s hub at Seattle-Tacoma International Airport (SEA) is already the largest airline hub on the West Coast, serving 104 nonstop destinations across North America and globally.

Alaska Airlines’ chief executive officer, Ben Minicucci, stated, "Serving Rome nonstop from Seattle is a dream come true. As an Italian American whose parents emigrated from Italy, this is a particularly meaningful addition to our network. Rome has been at the top of the list ever since we announced our new global gateway out of Seattle. Our guests have been asking for an easy way to get to Italy for years, and we're thrilled to provide it to people in the Northwest and beyond. Andiamo – let's go!"

While Rome remains one of the most-desired destinations for Mileage Plan members, it continues to be the largest crowd-pleasing European destination, which is not currently served nonstop from Seattle. As a result, the announcement of the new nonstop route seems to be a strategic business move on Alaska Airlines’ part to strengthen its competitive position in the airline industry.

Additionally, this new nonstop option for Seattle guests will also provide improved one-stop connectivity for guests all along the West Coast and Hawaii.

On a similar note, an expansion-related update from Delta Air Lines DAL was also available in the past week. In line with the efforts to strengthen its footprint in Spain, Delta launched a new nonstop flight from Boston to Barcelona. Flights on the new route will operate thrice a week. This route complements Delta’s existing services to Barcelona from New York-JFK (12 weekly flights) and Atlanta (10 weekly flights). Flights on the Boston–Barcelona route are being operated by DAL through a 281-seater Airbus A330-900neo, equipped with all modern facilities.

ALK’s Zacks Rank & Price Performance

ALK currently carries a Zacks Rank #5 (Strong Sell).

Shares of ALK have gained 24.7% over the past year, outperforming the 20.6% surge of the Zacks Airline industry.

ALK Stock One-Year Price Comparison

Stocks to Consider

Investors interested in the Transportation sector may also consider Copa Holdings CPA and SkyWest, Inc. (SKYW).

CPA currently sports a Zacks Rank #1 (Strong Buy). You can see the complete list of today’s Zacks #1 Rank stocks here.

CPA has an expected earnings growth rate of 14.3% for the current year. The company has an impressive earnings surprise history. Its earnings outpaced the Zacks Consensus Estimate in each of the trailing four quarters, delivering an average beat of 5.5%. Shares of CPA have risen 24.2% year to date.

SkyWest, founded in 1972, is based in St. George and operates regional jets for major U.S. airlines. SKYW is the holding company for SkyWest Airlines, SkyWest Charter and SkyWest Leasing, an aircraft leasing company. SKYW currently carries a Zacks Rank of 2 (Buy).

SKYW has an impressive earnings surprise track record, having surpassed the Zacks Consensus Estimate in each of the last four quarters. The average beat was 17.1%. The Zacks Consensus Estimate for current and next-year earnings has been revised upward over the past 60 days.

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This article originally published on Zacks Investment Research (zacks.com).

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