Alaska Airlines unveiled a new international business class product this week, sending the suites to Rome and London starting this month. The launch begins on Alaska’s 787 service from Seattle to Rome on April 28 and on Seattle to London on May 21, with Reykjavik to follow on May 28 aboard a 737 MAX with a separate premium experience.
For travelers, the eye-catching part is that the seat is not new at all. It is the same suite Hawaiian conceived of a decade ago and had already introduced on its 787s, where the carrier became the second airline in the world to offer the Adient Ascent suites. Hawaiian configured that aircraft with 34 Leihoku Suites in a 1-2-1 layout, giving every passenger direct aisle access along with wireless charging and 18-inch screens.
Hawaiian also built the cabin around a look and feel that was hard to miss. Working with TEAGUE, it used Polynesian navigation themes, a starlit ceiling, wave-patterned carpeting, native wood-inspired wall textures and black volcanic sand styling in the lavatories. That design helped give the Dreamliner a distinct identity when Hawaiian brought it into service in 2024, and it is now the basis for Alaska’s new long-haul business class.
Read Also: Space X IPO sparks a broader rally in space stocks and investors
Alaska is adding more than a new seat to the equation. Its business class will include a four-course meal, route-specific menu planning and Seattle chef Brady Ishiwata Williams as part of the dining program. The onboard extras also go beyond the plate: passengers will get Salt & Straw sundaes, Filson bedding, Filson amenity kits, Salt & Stone skincare and PATH Water bottles. Alaska says Starlink is still expected later.
The larger story is that Alaska is using Hawaiian’s work to reset its premium transatlantic offering, but not every piece of the earlier experience survived the trip. Hawaiian’s food, bedding and Wi-Fi never made the cut in the earlier version of the experience, even as its cabin ideas set a standard other airlines were still catching up to. Alaska’s relaunch turns that foundation into a broader Pacific Northwest premium pitch, not a simple replay of Hawaiian’s original island identity.
That makes the answer to the key question clear: Alaskaair is not introducing a brand-new seat so much as repackaging a proven one with better dining and stronger branding for its long-haul network. The real test now is whether the airline can turn that familiar hardware into a premium product that feels coherent on the first Seattle-to-Rome flight and keeps that promise as London and Reykjavik come online.
