Alaska Airlines’ 1st Transatlantic Summer Was Really Just 3 Different Fleet Bets From Seattle

Alaska Airlines crossed the Atlantic for the first time in April 2026, launching nonstop service from Seattle-Tacoma International Airport(SEA) to Rome Fiumicino (FCO) on a Boeing 787-9 inherited from Hawaiian Airlines. Within a month, the airline added daily year-round service to London Heathrow (LHR) on the same widebody type and daily seasonal service to Reykjavík Keflavik (KEF) on a Boeing 737 MAX 8. An airline that had never operated a widebody aircraft before September 2024 was running three transatlantic routes by the end of May 2026, using two different aircraft types on three different operating schedules.