When Alaska Airlines launches its new route between Seattle and Seoul later this week, it will do so with the Boeing 787 Dreamliner.
When the service was first announced in March, Alaska said it would use the Airbus A330-200 and switch over to a Hawaiian Airlines-owned 787-9 at a later date. But in a statement released Wednesday, the carrier said the inaugural flight scheduled for Friday will operate with the Dreamliner.
The service marks the 787’s first international route for Alaska from Seattle.
The airline said Wednesday that it will start flying the 787-9 on its existing Seattle-Tokyo Narita route starting Jan. 6, 2026, and on new flights from Seattle to London and Rome next spring.
Alaska is setting up a 787-9 hub in Seattle that will deploy as many as 17 787s across its global network. The new pilot base, which joins an existing 737 hub, is expected to open in March.
By 2030, the airline plans to serve 12 intercontinental destinations from Seattle.
Alaska currently has four Dreamliners in its fleet.
The carrier is in the process of merging with Hawaiian, which it acquired last year in a $1.9 billion transaction.
