Alaska Airlines plots new flagship international experience, gears up for loyalty program revamp

Fresh off its acquisition of Hawaiian Airlines last year, Alaska Airlines is gearing up to announce a "beautiful new international experience" — likely on board the Boeing 787 Dreamliners Hawaiian ordered before the two carriers merged.

The reveal is expected later this year, executives said Monday, moments before Alaska and Hawaiian jointly launched their first long-haul flight to Asia.

The new flagship international Dreamliner experience would presumably include an all-new business-class product and serve as the linchpin of the carrier's future international growth plans out of its Seattle-Tacoma International Airport (SEA) home base — plans that include flights to Europe starting next year.

"What you'll see is all the flights — international flights — out of Seattle, on 787s ... and it'll be operated by Alaska," CEO Ben Minicucci told TPG in an interview Monday. "It'll be a fantastic new international look."

That's noteworthy not just because of the prospects of a flashy new international cabin experience on a major U.S. airline, but also because it would be Alaska's first true wide-body service. After all, it's Hawaiian Airlines that's operating the just-launched service from Seattle to Tokyo's Narita International Airport (NRT), as Alaska and Hawaiian maintain separate brands under one corporate structure postmerger.

But gaining access to Hawaiian's larger twin-aisle jets — and the Dreamliners it's had on order for several years — was one of the factors that proved enticing for Alaska when it first sought to acquire the Aloha State's home carrier starting in 2023.

Now, to be clear: It'll be a little while before passengers see this new international Dreamliner product hit the skies. The company's future plans around its 787s are contingent on the completion of labor deals, Minicucci said, which could take a year or two.

Hawaiian was due to receive a total of a dozen Dreamliners, dating back to before the merger. It debuted its first 787 last spring, with a stunning new interior and serious upgrade over its legacy long-haul fleet.

A330 retrofits coming

Alaska Air Group is also planning an eventual face-lift for the older Hawaiian jets, Minicucci told TPG on Monday.

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The company sees Hawaiian's Airbus A330s as a continued "niche" in its fleet on Honolulu routes for years to come. But, as I saw on board the Hawaiian-operated inaugural from Seattle to Tokyo, the cabins could use some tender loving care, aside from the free, high-speed Starlink Wi-Fi on board.

Indeed, retrofits for those jets are on Minicucci's to-do list: "Those interiors," he said, "will get a makeover in the next few years." Snarled industry supply chains for seats could throw that timeline into jeopardy, though, he noted.

New loyalty program set for August debut

Alaska also revealed one additional bit of news about the future of its new, joint loyalty program that will encompass both Alaska and Hawaiian. That program will launch in August, Minicucci told TPG.

That figures to be a closely watched reveal, considering Mileage Plan currently offers some of the best sweet spot redemptions of any U.S. airline loyalty program.

"We're not going to take anything away," Minicucci told me — though he couldn't get into specifics.

I did have to ask: Will the program be called Mileage Plan, or get some sort of new name, a la "Flying Blue" for Air France and KLM, or "Bonvoy" for Marriott's portfolio of hotels? Minicucci only offered this: "It'll be uniquely branded with a whole bunch of new features on it."

A far more significant development worth watching: what immediate decision, if any, the company makes on its relationship with American Express. At the moment, Amex members can transfer Membership Rewards points to HawaiianMiles, and then shift those miles seamlessly over to Mileage Plan. Earlier this month, I used that tactic to redeem 4,500 Alaska miles for what would have been a pricey last-minute flight.

Alaska executives have previously expressed hesitancy about allowing flexible currency transfers from credit card programs as they dreamed up this new joint loyalty program.

Bilt Rewards Points do currently transfer directly to Alaska at a 1:1 ratio.

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