Alaska sets target date for launch of Seattle-to-Seoul route

Alaska Air Group has set the date for launching transpacific flights between Seattle and Seoul, as part of a broader international expansion plan enabled by Hawaiian Airlines’ widebody jets. The five-times-weekly flights to Seoul Incheon International airport will start 12 September using Hawaiian’s Airbus A330-200 aircraft, Alaska said on 25 March. Alaska Air Group’s acquisition of Hawaiian, completed last year, provided the company with an existing long-haul network from its new Honolulu hub. Hawaiian’s A330s and Boeing 787s are also allowing Alaska to pursue its first transpacific flights from Seattle. Seattle-to-Toyko service is set to launch on 12 May. Alaska calls its base at Seattle-Tacoma International airport the “largest airline hub on the West Coast”, with nonstop flights to 104 destinations across North America. It envisions flowing domestic and near-international traffic into a long-haul network stretching across the Pacific. By 2030, Alaska plans to fly to “at least 12” international cities from Seattle. Hawaiian operates more than 30 A330s and two 787-9s. The Honolulu-based carrier has 10 more 787s on order. <br/>