Alaska Airlines will launch Seattle to Osaka flights in May 2027 and Seattle to Papeete flights in June 2027, operated by Hawaiian Airlines A330s with Hawaiian branding.
IMO, adding KIX is accretive and will only help AS maintain their market lead. PPT is a bit of a headscratcher, but as noted, I suspect it will benefit from connecting traffic/loyalty.
AS is doubling down on their international growth strategies just as they paid the highest cost for fuel in the 2nd quarter among large US airlines and that will likely continue. Using 330s for these routes only adds to their disadvantage. but then UA is using 772s to KIX, IIRC.
as for branding and what might remain from HNL, the chances are high that HNL to KIX isn't profitable but they don't have the available planes are the 330s. The chances are getting higher that they will ditch the Hawaiian brand in a few years because they can't operationally execute on it.
Nah, these are cool new routes. You’re just jealous Delta isn’t operating them. High fuel costs impact everyone. You’re basically suggesting they shouldn’t fly their planes. Psh.
UA, not DL, is the real competitor on these routes; SEA vs. SFO. I have said many times that UA is as much impacted by AS' int'l growth as DL is.
and, no, fuel costs do not impact everyone the same. West coast fuel is more costly than elsewhere and other carriers including AA and DL are using new generation aircraft over the Pacific where long flights justify the better fuel burn. DL does have a significant fuel cost advantage that was seen not just in fuel costs for the 2nd quarter, will exist for the 3rd quarter to a smaller extent and will be seen in the 4th quarter and beyond - or until the Middle East and Ukraine mess is settled -your guess is as good as anyone's but the midterms aren't going to make a difference and might push things up to a new level of craziness.
AS is still a business just like every other US airline; signing up for a bunch of unprofitable growth isn't going to help AS.
AS reports its earnings later this week. Analysts expect a small profit for the third quarter will lead to a loss for 2026 as a whole
DL failed on SEA-KIX. I think AS has a better chance here, given it is significantly more entrenched in the SEA local market than DL is, but KIX is a difficult market for US carriers and for the Japan based ones as well, when it comes to US nonstops.