Alaska Airlines to Link Seattle and Papeete With Hawaiian A330-200 From June 2027

Route overview

Alaska Airlines will open a nonstop service between Seattle–Tacoma International Airport and Faa’a International Airport, Papeete on 11 June 2027, operating three times weekly with an Airbus A330-200 flown by sister carrier Hawaiian Airlines. The route was announced on 20 October 2026 alongside a four-weekly Seattle–Osaka Kansai service and is subject to government approval. Tickets went on sale the same day.

The southbound leg, AS987, departs Seattle at 23:55 on Wednesdays, Fridays and Saturdays and arrives in Papeete at 07:20 the following morning. The return, AS988, leaves Papeete at 17:00 on Thursdays, Saturdays and Sundays and lands in Seattle at 06:00 the next day. Published block times are 10 hours 25 minutes southbound and 10 hours northbound over a great-circle distance of 4,782 miles, or roughly 7,700 km. The overnight timing in both directions is designed to feed Alaska’s morning bank at Seattle and to allow same-day onward connections in Papeete to Bora Bora and Moorea, as well as to Rarotonga, through the group’s partnership with domestic carrier Air Tahiti.

Airline network context

Papeete and Osaka are the eighth and ninth long-haul intercontinental routes Alaska has added at Seattle since it began widebody flying from the hub. They are also the carrier’s third and fourth new international routes for 2027, following Athens, which starts on 12 May, and Paris, which starts on 25 May. Once all four launch, Alaska will operate nine long-haul routes from Seattle: Athens, London, Osaka, Paris, Papeete, Reykjavik, Rome, Seoul and Tokyo Narita.

The expansion sits under the carrier’s Alaska Accelerate plan, which targets at least 15 long-haul intercontinental destinations from Seattle by 2030. That figure was raised from an earlier goal of 12. Chief commercial officer Andrew Harrison has said the remaining additions will be a mix of Asia and Europe, weighted slightly towards Asia. Papeete becomes Alaska’s fourth transpacific destination from Seattle after Tokyo, Seoul and Osaka.

The service is a direct product of the Hawaiian Airlines acquisition. Hawaiian already flies Honolulu–Papeete, and Alaska has confirmed that service will continue. The combined group now lists seven hubs, with Seattle described as the largest airline hub on the US West Coast and Honolulu as its second-largest. Both carriers are members of the oneworld alliance, and the group’s Atmos Rewards members earn and redeem on the new route as on any other.

Ben Minicucci, president and chief executive of Alaska Air Group, said in the announcement: “We are building an airline that connects the Pacific Northwest to more of the world.” Vaihere Lissant, chief executive of Tahiti Tourisme, said the integration of Hawaiian into Alaska’s network “creates new opportunities” for the destination.

About the aircraft

The route will be flown by a Hawaiian Airlines Airbus A330-200 in Hawaiian livery and with Hawaiian cabin crew, but sold under Alaska flight numbers. The type is configured with 278 seats: 18 lie-flat business-class seats in a 2-2-2 layout and 260 economy seats, a portion of which are extra-legroom Extra Comfort rows. At three weekly rotations, the schedule adds 834 seats per week in each direction between the two airports.

Hawaiian’s A330 interiors predate the merger and the business cabin is the carrier’s legacy product. A nose-to-tail retrofit, bringing new Leihoku suites and a premium economy cabin, is scheduled to begin in 2028, so the launch-season aircraft will carry the current layout. All of Hawaiian’s A330s are fitted with Starlink connectivity, which is free for Atmos Rewards members. Business-class passengers receive dedicated check-in and Alaska Lounge access at Seattle.

About the airports

Seattle–Tacoma International Airport is Alaska’s principal hub and the operating base for the carrier’s entire long-haul programme. Live network data on bigairports.com shows 162 nonstop routes from the airport. The densest are domestic trunk and regional sectors: Anchorage with 278 flights in the current sample, Portland with 254, Denver with 244 and Phoenix with 225. The Port of Seattle states that the airport currently hosts 61 international nonstop services to 36 international destinations on 29 airlines. Six intercontinental services debuted at the airport in 2026, including Cathay Pacific to Hong Kong and Alaska to Rome, London and Reykjavik, and five more are scheduled for 2027. Alaska alone serves 103 nonstop North American destinations from the airport. Full route data is on the Seattle–Tacoma airport page.

Faa’a International Airport is French Polynesia’s sole international gateway and the hub of Air Tahiti’s inter-island network. bigairports.com data lists 41 nonstop routes, the large majority of them short domestic hops. Bora Bora leads with 470 flights in the current sample, followed by Raiatea with 305, Huahine with 212 and Moorea with 173, each served by two operators. The only long-haul sector in the airport’s top 15 by frequency is Los Angeles, with 187 flights and two operators. Rarotonga in the Cook Islands, with 46 flights, is the main regional international link. Seattle does not currently appear in the airport’s active route list. Current schedules are on the Faa’a airport page.

Market context and competition

There is no nonstop service between Seattle and Papeete today. Air Tahiti Nui has previously operated the city pair, but the service did not sustain itself and was withdrawn. Alaska’s bet is that a Seattle origin hub with Alaska’s own domestic feed, rather than a point-to-point operation from the Tahiti end, changes the economics.

The wider US–Tahiti market is concentrated in California. From San Francisco, United and French Bee operate nonstops, with French Bee continuing to Paris Orly. From Los Angeles, Air France and Air Tahiti Nui fly the sector, with both also serving Paris via the Californian stop. Hawaiian’s Honolulu service provides the only non-contiguous US link. Alaska’s Seattle flight therefore becomes the third US mainland gateway to French Polynesia and the only one north of the Bay Area.

Introductory round-trip Main Cabin fares from Seattle to Papeete were published at $999, with the launch sale running until 26 October 2026. Flight times, days and fares remain subject to change and to regulatory approval.