Alaska Airlines shifts some Dreamliner orders to larger model amid long-haul expansion

By 2030, Alaska plans to operate around 12 long-haul international routes from SEA and will base all its Dreamliners at this airport. Meanwhile, Hawaiian’s Airbus A330s will remain based at Honolulu’s Daniel K. Inouye International Airport (HNL).

The primary reason for choosing the largest Dreamliner is seat capacity. The Boeing 787-10 can accommodate up to 336 passengers in a standard two-class configuration—40 more than the -9 variant—while maintaining similar operating economics per passenger compared to its smaller counterpart. However, the trade-off is range: the -10 can fly about 7,284 miles, roughly 1,400 miles less than the -9.

Other airlines currently flying the Boeing 787-10 include KLM Royal Dutch Airlines, Singapore Airlines and United Airlines.

A senior airline executive previously described the Boeing 787-10 as “an ideal plane for busy routes where the longer range of the -9 is not necessary.”

Many major cities in Asia and Europe—including Hong Kong, London, Paris, Seoul and Tokyo—are within reach of SEA using polar routings with this aircraft type.

It remains uncertain whether Alaska needs these extra seats at this stage of its intercontinental expansion. Seattle-Tacoma International is a significant but competitive gateway served by large aircraft from established carriers such as British Airways, EVA Air and Korean Air with their own Dreamliners; British Airways, Emirates and Qatar Airways operate Boeing 777-300ERs at SEA as well. Delta Air Lines—the airport’s largest international carrier—flies Airbus A330-900s and A350-900s from SEA.

According to Tom Fitzgerald, aviation analyst at TD Cowen: "SEA is better positioned geographically to connect numerous central and western cities with Asia than either SFO or LAX," he wrote in a December report on Alaska's global ambitions. "The addition of long-haul international service also should improve [Alaska's] value prop with corporate and leisure [travelers] alike."

Alaska Airlines is a member of Oneworld alliance alongside partners such as British Airways, Japan Airlines and Qatar Airways.

There are operational considerations for winter months when demand between North America and both Asia or Europe typically declines. While Australia and New Zealand see peak travel during northern winters, they are beyond range for direct flights from SEA using the largest Dreamliner variant. Routing through Honolulu could be an option but would complicate fleet deployment strategies focused on concentrating Dreamliners at SEA.