Seattle-Tacoma International Airport (SEA) has long been a battleground for Asian routes, with Delta Air Lines aggressively building a Pacific hub there. Alaska Airlines claimed its own stake in May 2025 with nonstop flights to Tokyo Narita, flown by an Airbus A330-200 inherited from Hawaiian Airlines, and added Seoul Incheon that September. The Boeing 787-9, the other widebody that came with Hawaiian, can fly the same routes.
The great circle from Seattle to Tokyo Narita is 4,134 nautical miles (Haneda is 4,164). Both of Alaska's widebodies make it at maximum payload in still air: the A330-200 reaches about 4,800 nm that way and the 787-9 about 5,300 nm. With a full cabin and no cargo, they reach about 6,700 nm and 7,700 nm.
The map link below starts at Seattle with both jets in their Alaska and Hawaiian cabins. Push the passenger slider to 100% and both rings still cover all of Japan. The margin that matters is on the westbound leg: Seattle to Tokyo flies into the North Pacific jet stream, strongest in winter, and that headwind is where the A330-200's smaller margin shows first.
By flying to Japan, Alaska Airlines is feeding these flights from its West Coast network. Passengers from Portland, Boise, or Anchorage can now connect through SEA directly onto an Alaska widebody to Asia, keeping them within the Alaska mileage ecosystem and strengthening the airline's Oneworld alliance offerings.
See range, specs, and airline configs on PlaneRange:
A330-200 787-9 Visualize on the Map →New routes pushed to their limits, new aircraft, and features as they land.
