Alaska Airlines debuts first-ever direct flight from Seattle to Tokyo
May 13, 2025, 8:43 AM | Updated: 8:46 am
An Alaska Airlines plane takes off at Los Angeles International Airport (LAX) following the Thanksgiving holiday on December 2, 2024 in Los Angeles, California. (Photo: Mario Tama, Getty Images)
(Photo: Mario Tama, Getty Images)
Alaska Airlines’ flight to Tokyo took off from the Seattle-Tacoma International Airport (Sea-Tac) Monday, becoming the first direct flight to Japan for the airline in Seattle.
Alaska Airlines was able to create this flight path after merging with Hawaiian Airlines in a $1.9 billion merger. Alaska Airlines is in the middle of establishing 12 new nonstop global routes with long-haul, widebody airplanes by 2030. Alaska Airlines, Sea-Tac’s busiest airline, intends to use Seattle as its “international hub,” according to The Seattle Times.
“Nobody ever does great things if you’re always safe,” Alaska Airlines CEO Ben Minicucci told The Seattle Times. “Sometimes you have to put yourself out there and take a little bit of a chance, and feel a little bit that nervousness in your stomach and say, ‘Wow, is this going to work?'”
The other nonstop global flights Alaska Airlines is pursuing
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The first of these nonstop flights is to Tokyo Narita, while the second is to Seoul, South Korea. The other 10 nonstop global flights have yet to be revealed.
The airline also plans to launch a direct flight from Sea-Tac to Europe by 2026.
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