Seattle-Tacoma International Airport (SEA) has long been a battleground for Asian routes, with Delta Air Lines aggressively building a Pacific hub there. Now, equipped with the Boeing 787-9 Dreamliner, Alaska Airlines is claiming its own stake with direct flights to Tokyo.
A great circle route from Seattle to Tokyo (Narita or Haneda) is approximately 4,140 nautical miles. While this is a formidable distance, it is well within the 7,500 nautical mile max-payload range of the 787-9.
On PlaneRange, setting Seattle as the origin and selecting the 787-9 reveals a massive range ring that easily swallows the entire Japanese archipelago. Even with the passenger slider pushed to 100%, the route remains solidly in the "Efficient" zone. The aircraft doesn't have to trade cargo capacity for fuel, making the route highly profitable.
By flying to Japan, Alaska Airlines is leveraging its massive domestic West Coast feed. 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:
787-9 Visualize on the Map →New routes pushed to their limits, new aircraft, and features as they land.
