Alaska’s Premium Push

I was in Seattle this past week where I heard from executives at Alaska Airlines about the carrier’s ambitions to transform from a West Coast airline to a full-service global one, even as the company grapples with surging fuel costs. 

Alaska’s merger with Hawaiian Airlines already gave the carrier access to widebody aircraft to start flying international routes. And now, Alaska is upping its target of 12 international destinations by 2030 to 15. 

“We just have seen the strength and the huge amount of a demand that has been attracted to what we're doing, and we want to make sure we have a very robust Asia and European network,” Alaska chief commercial officer Andrew Harrison told me at the airline’s global training center. 

Alaska is also doubling down on premium travel: It is adding more business class seats and unveiling premium economy cabins. Historically, Alaska never had a dedicated premium economy class but it is now joining scores of airlines in investing in the cabin due to the high margins it offers and the ability to reach more high-spend travelers. 

Plus, Alaska’s Boeing 737 Max 10s will receive full lie-flat business class suites for select transcontinental routes. While business class and premium economy cabins will have seatback screens, Alaska doesn’t appear convinced that domestic main cabins will need screens. 

“We’ve got to get these products in market,” said company chief financial officer and president Shane Tackett. “We’ve got to get every plane with Starlink, and then we can sit back and see if that’s actually a missing thing for guests or not.”