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Alaska Airlines Unveils New Premium Suites and Lounges

Alaska Airlines announced a comprehensive cabin upgrade across its Alaska and Hawaiian fleets, adding hundreds of premium seats and new lounges. The carrier will install 34 lie‑flat Aurora suites on its Boeing 787 Dreamliners and 12 suites on future 737‑Max 10s, while the 787‑9 and 787‑10 will receive 35 Premium Reserve seats starting in 2028. Hawaiian Airlines will retrofit 24 Airbus A330s with 22 first‑class suites and 28 premium‑economy seats, slated to debut in 2028. In addition, Alaska will open a 41,000‑sq‑ft lounge at Seattle‑Tacoma International Airport and Hawaiian will launch a 13,000‑sq‑ft terminal‑1 lounge in Honolulu. The overhaul comes as the airlines, which merged in September 2024, aim to capture higher‑margin travelers amid rising fuel costs. Executives will discuss the new products at the upcoming investor day in Seattle, linking the upgrades to growth prospects for the co‑branded Atmos loyalty program and a new debit‑card offering. The changes reflect an industry trend of replacing coach seats with premium options to boost revenue. The airlines plan to roll out the new cabins and lounges over the next few years, targeting key international routes from Seattle to London, Iceland and Italy.

· CNBC

The essential points

  1. 01Alaska Airlines will add 34 lie‑flat Aurora suites to its 787 Dreamliners and 12 suites on 737‑Max 10s.
  2. 02Hawaiian Airlines will retrofit 24 A330s with 22 first‑class suites and 28 premium‑economy seats by 2028.
  3. 03New 41,000‑sq‑ft lounge at Seattle‑Tacoma International Airport will serve Aurora suite passengers.
  4. 04The cabin overhaul is part of a strategy to capture premium travelers amid rising fuel costs and a merged Alaska‑Hawaiian brand.
The full brief

Alaska Airlines announced a comprehensive cabin upgrade across its Alaska and Hawaiian fleets, adding hundreds of premium seats and new lounges. The carrier will install 34 lie‑flat Aurora suites on its Boeing 787 Dreamliners and 12 suites on future 737‑Max 10s, while the 787‑9 and 787‑10 will receive 35 Premium Reserve seats starting in 2028. Hawaiian Airlines will retrofit 24 Airbus A330s with 22 first‑class suites and 28 premium‑economy seats, slated to debut in 2028.

In addition, Alaska will open a 41,000‑sq‑ft lounge at Seattle‑Tacoma International Airport and Hawaiian will launch a 13,000‑sq‑ft terminal‑1 lounge in Honolulu. The overhaul comes as the airlines, which merged in September 2024, aim to capture higher‑margin travelers amid rising fuel costs. Executives will discuss the new products at the upcoming investor day in Seattle, linking the upgrades to growth prospects for the co‑branded Atmos loyalty program and a new debit‑card offering.

The changes reflect an industry trend of replacing coach seats with premium options to boost revenue. The airlines plan to roll out the new cabins and lounges over the next few years, targeting key international routes from Seattle to London, Iceland and Italy.