Alaska Airlines executives were not kidding when they said more growth in Asia was coming.
The Oneworld alliance carrier just announced its newest service to Tokyo, which will start next spring.
But unlike the airline’s other transpacific routes, this one will not launch from Seattle — and it will not be on one of its large twin-aisle planes.
Beginning in May 2027, Alaska plans to connect its hub at Ted Stevens Anchorage International Airport (ANC) to Tokyo’s Narita International Airport (NRT).
The new route, Alaska’s first-ever nonstop flight to Japan from its namesake state, is part of a larger four-route expansion at ANC, unveiled Tuesday. The expansion also includes a trio of new domestic routes to Texas and Tennessee.
The four new Alaska routes are:
- ANC – NRT: Daily from May 13, 2027, through Sept. 7, 2027; resuming three-times weekly in January 2028
- ANC – Austin Bergstrom International Airport (AUS): Saturdays from June 12, 2027, through Aug. 7, 2027
- ANC – Dallas Fort Worth International Airport (DFW): Saturdays from June 12, 2027, through Aug. 7, 2027
- ANC – Nashville International Airport (BNA): Saturdays from June 12, 2027, through Aug. 7, 2027
All four of those routes will be flown with Alaska’s Boeing 737 MAX 8 — yes, that includes the service to Tokyo.
The aircraft features 16 domestic first-class seats, 36 extra-legroom and 115 standard economy seats.
The Anchorage-Tokyo service will build on Alaska’s existing service from Seattle-Tacoma International Airport (SEA) to NRT, which launched in 2025. But with this route operated by a narrow-body MAX 8, there will be no true long-haul business-class product up front — just the domestic first-class recliners.
Alaska’s growth to Japan
Japan is a key focus for Alaska’s expansion in Asia. Tokyo was Alaska’s first long-haul destination from Seattle-Tacoma International Airport (SEA) last year. And, on top of this new nonstop from Anchorage, the carrier recently announced nonstop service from SEA to Osaka’s Kansai International Airport (KIX), also beginning next May.
Hawaiian and Alaska merged in 2024, and this growth builds on Hawaiian Airlines’ strength in Japan. Hawaiian continues to fly to KIX and Tokyo’s Haneda Airport (HND) from its Honolulu hub.
Further growth in Japan could be coming: Alaska intends to join the immunized joint venture with American Airlines and JAL, which, if approved by regulators, would allow it to coordinate commercial activities between the U.S. and Japan with the other two airlines.
Stretching the MAX 8’s wings
Alaska will be the first airline to fly the MAX 8 to NRT from North America with its new nonstop from ANC. The route will stretch 3,433 miles and take around eight hours of flying time.
That may sound like a long trek for the narrow-body, domestic-configured aircraft,
However, this new ANC-NRT route does not even rank among the 10 longest MAX 8 routes globally, according to schedule data from aviation analytics firm Cirium. Even Alaska’s own nonstop from Seattle to Keflavik International Airport (KEF) in Iceland is longer, at 3,622 miles.
“The [MAX] 8 is so good at going long distances for us. [Anchorage] will see a lot of that,” Shane Tackett, Alaska’s president and chief financial officer, said at an investor event in September.
Alaska dominates ANC
Alaska faces little competition on its new routes from ANC. Its partner American Airlines flies between ANC and DFW, while AUS and BNA are both currently unserved
The ANC-NRT route is also unserved today.
But the route holds a unique place in aviation history: It was once a key leg on flights to Japan before the advent of long-range aircraft. Air France, British Airways, JAL, KLM Royal Dutch Airlines and SAS Scandinavian Airlines all flew the route as part of a refueling stop at ANC into the early 1990s, Cirium schedules show.
The arrival of the Boeing 747-400 in 1989 enabled many airlines, including U.S. carriers Northwest Airlines and United Airlines, to drop ANC as a fuel stop in favor of nonstop flights to Japan.
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Source: thepointsguy.com
