In the past year, Alaska has launched new international flights to Tokyo and Seoul and is gearing to kick off new routes to Rome, London, and Reykjavík. Now, it’s adding enhanced comfort to its rapidly expanding international service.
This week, the Seattle-based carrier unveiled a new international business-class experience on its Boeing 787-9 Dreamliners, which coincides with its broader push to offer long-haul routes from its Seattle hub to Europe and Asia.
There is, however, a bit of nuance here. Alaska isn’t introducing a brand-new seat. The suites themselves are the same hard product already flying on Hawaiian Airlines’ Boeing 787s—aircraft Alaska gained access to through its 2024 acquisition of the Honolulu-based carrier. What Alaska is really rolling out is its “Suites Experience,” a revamped soft product layered onto those existing lie-flat seats.
“Until now, they’ve continued to feature the old Hawaiian Airlines business-class amenities and branding on these planes,” Gary Leff, an airline mileage expert who pens the View from the Wing blog, told Afar. “So it’s about a unified, standardized product going forward.”
Additionally, Alaska does have first class on domestic flights operating on Airbus A330 and Boeing 787 aircraft, and it also has a Premium Class product, Alaska’s version of Premium Economy. But this is the first time it is offering its own version of business class for its new and expanding international flight roster.
Here’s what you need to know about Alaska Airlines’ new business-class product.
Alaska partnered with outdoor gear company Filson on the bedding.
Courtesy of Alaska Airlines
What Alaska’s new business class offers
Alaska’s new International business class is built around 34 enclosed suites, each with a fully lie-flat seat, direct aisle access, and a privacy door; the seats are in a one-two-one layout.
The suites include the usual business-class cabin perks, such as 18-inch HD screens, noise-reducing headsets, individual power outlets, and wireless charging.
However, Alaska is trying to make the soft product feel more distinctive—and more tied to its Pacific Northwest base.
The airline says flights will begin with a welcome service of a cheese and charcuterie board (a take on the brand’s much-loved Signature Fruit & Cheese Platter), paired with West Coast wines and craft beers.
From there, meals will be tailored to the route, with options like pasta carbonara on Rome flights and Gochujang chicken with traditional banchan (small, assorted Korean side dishes) on Incheon service.
Guests can also select Alaska’s Chef’s (Tray) Table entrée, developed in partnership with chef Brady Ishiwata Williams of Seattle’s Tomo restaurant; it has previously featured options such as glazed short rib and buckwheat soba noodles with ahi tuna tataki when offered to Alaska’s domestic first class passengers. Dessert will come via a Salt & Straw (a Portland, Oregon–based ice creamery) sundae cart.
In international business class, Alaska offers a welcome cheese and charcuterie board, and meals that reflect the region (pasta en route to Italy; Gochujang chicken for South Korea flights), ending with an ice cream sundae cart.
Courtesy of Alaska Airlines
Alaska has also partnered with Seattle-based Filson, a hip outdoor clothing and gear company, for luxury bedding (including a mattress pad, sleeping and lumbar pillows, and an oversize duvet with a plaid print) and Los Angeles–based beauty brand Salt & Stone for the travel amenity kit (including facial mist, lotion, and lip balm).
Passengers booked in international business class will also have access to Alaska’s own premium lounges, along with partner lounges across the Oneworld network. At the same time, the airline is upgrading its connectivity. Alaska plans to roll out Starlink Wi-Fi (a free perk for loyalty members) on its Boeing 787-9 fleet later this year, bringing faster, gate-to-gate internet to long-haul flights.
Alaska’s new international routes—now with business-class seats
Until recently, Alaska has relied heavily on partners within the Oneworld alliance, such as Japan Airlines and British Airways, to carry its passengers on long-haul routes.
However, since acquiring Hawaiian Airlines (and its long-haul aircraft) in October 2024, Alaska Airlines has been steadily ramping up its international ambitions. The carrier now operates year-round service from its Seattle hub to Seoul, South Korea, and Tokyo, Japan, and is launching year-round service to London, England, on May 21, with seasonal routes to Rome, Italy, launching on April 28, and to Reykjavík, Iceland, on May 28. Longer term, Alaska has said it aims to grow that network to at least a dozen international destinations from Seattle by 2030.
The newly designed cabin is directly tied to that expansion, giving Alaska a more credible option for long-haul premium travelers willing to pay more to rest well on lengthier flights.
“In terms of their strategy, they’re new to international long haul, flying to Europe and Asia from the mainland U.S., and they need to have a competitive product to attract lucrative customers,” said Leff.
Note that while the inaugural flights to Rome and London will see the new cabins, the Tokyo route won’t have the addition until the fall, and Seoul sometime later this month. (Currently, the Asia routes feature Hawaiian Airlines interiors and soft product, as well as flight attendants in Hawaiian uniforms.) Also, notably, the Reykjavik route will be operated by a narrow-body Boeing 737 MAX 8, meaning it won’t feature the new lie-flat suites, although it will still offer Alaska’s premium cabin up front.
