For decades, Alaska Airlines was defined by its domestic network and its "Proudly All Boeing" fleet of 737 narrowbodies. Its 2024 acquisition of Hawaiian Airlines changed that. Along with Hawaiian's A330-200s, Alaska inherited the Boeing 787-9 Dreamliner, and in 2026 it put the 787 on its first European routes: Seattle to Rome and London.
A Boeing 737 MAX 9 is a fantastic aircraft for flying Seattle to New York or Los Angeles to Hawaii, but its range tops out around 3,200 nautical miles with a full cabin. That left Alaska relying on partner airlines to carry its frequent flyers across the Pacific or the Atlantic.
Enter the 787-9. With all 300 seats full and no cargo, it reaches about 7,700 nautical miles in still air. Load it to its maximum structural payload, with the cargo hold full as well, and that falls to about 5,300 nm. Either way it redraws the airline's network map, letting Alaska fly its own metal to global hubs.
Alaska's long-haul routes from Seattle run from 4,134 nm (Tokyo Narita) to 4,929 nm (Rome). All of them sit inside the 787-9's max-payload point in still air, so a full cabin never has to give up seats. The pressure falls on cargo: at the long end, a winter headwind on the westbound return adds enough distance that belly freight is the first thing left behind.
See range, specs, and airline configs on PlaneRange:
787-9 Visualize on the Map →New routes pushed to their limits, new aircraft, and features as they land.
