Alaska Airlines to launch Rome flights, new flagship international experience

Pacific Northwest, say "Ciao, Italy." Alaska Airlines just announced it will launch the region's first nonstop flights to Rome starting next spring.

And the news is much bigger than a new link between Seattle-Tacoma International Airport (SEA) and Rome Fiumicino Leonardo da Vinci Airport (FCO), which will take flight in May 2026.

This new flight will double as the launch for Alaska's all-new flagship international experience on board the Boeing 787-9 Dreamliner — which we expect will include an all-new business-class experience.

This will be the third long-haul international route Alaska has launched from its Seattle home base since acquiring Hawaiian Airlines in 2024; I was on board the inaugural flight to Tokyo's Narita International Airport (NRT) just last month. Flights to Seoul, South Korea, are up next, starting Sept. 12.

But Hawaiian is technically operating those two Asia routes (at least for now) because Alaska, up to this point, didn't have the large, wide-body planes needed to fly long-haul service.

That's about to change.

Last month, Alaska CEO Ben Minicucci told TPG that the Seattle-based carrier planned to eventually take over all of the new international flights out of Seattle — using the Dreamliners Hawaiian had ordered before the two airlines merged.

Executives also said the carrier would unveil an all-new flagship international travel experience for its first true Alaska-operated long-haul routes; for decades, Alaska has flown entirely domestic or short-haul international routes with its single-aisle, narrow-body planes.

"It'll be a fantastic new international look that will come with the 787s," Ben Minicucci told me in May. "There's more coming, on all our international offering in terms of livery and interiors and all that stuff."

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Alaska Airlines' new Rome flights

The new flights to Rome will usher in Alaska's long-haul era, and its debut in Europe — not to mention its third of a dozen long-haul flights expected out of Seattle by the end of this decade.

"Serving Rome nonstop from Seattle is a dream come true. As an Italian American whose parents emigrated from Italy, this is a particularly meaningful addition to our network," Minicucci said in a statement announcing the news Tuesday. "Rome has been at the top of the list ever since we announced our new global gateway out of Seattle."

Rome won't just be a new destination for Alaska. This new service will be Seattle's first direct link to Rome — easily the biggest European city the Pacific Northwest didn't have nonstop service to.

Review: The Rome Cavalieri, A Waldorf Astoria Hotel: Resort living in the Eternal City

Delta Air Lines, which also operates a Seattle hub, currently offers a European route map that includes London, Paris and Amsterdam.

Air France (Paris), Aer Lingus (Dublin), British Airways (London) and Lufthansa (Munich and Frankfurt) are among the airlines also offering nonstop service from Seattle to Western Europe.

Most recently, Scandinavian Airlines launched Seattle nonstops to Copenhagen after joining Delta in the SkyTeam alliance.

Booking Alaska Airlines to Rome with points and miles

Alaska's flights to the Eternal City will launch in May 2026, and will go on sale this fall.

For travelers hoping to book the new route with points and miles, big developments are in the works.

Alaska, together with Hawaiian, plans to announce a new loyalty program in August that will encompass the two airlines.

Today, Alaska's Mileage Plan miles are among the most valuable loyalty currency of any U.S. airline, per TPG's monthly valuations.

You can transfer Bilt Rewards Points directly to Alaska at a 1:1 ratio. And, for the moment, you can transfer American Express Membership Rewards points to Hawaiian Airlines HawaiianMiles, and then move those miles directly to Alaska. But that loophole, of sorts, will end June 30.

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