Alaska Airlines launched the first-ever U.S. transatlantic Boeing 737 MAX 8 service from Seattle to Iceland — ending decades of forced layovers and opening a direct path to Europe for Pacific Northwest travelers.
Alaska Airlines on Thursday launched daily nonstop service from Seattle to Iceland aboard a Boeing 737 MAX 8, becoming the first U.S. carrier to operate a transatlantic flight on the single-aisle narrowbody. The 737 MAX 8 holds an ETOPS-180 certification, authorizing it for extended over-water operations up to 180 minutes from a diversion airport — the technical prerequisite for transatlantic flight.
The new route — linking Seattle-Tacoma International Airport (SEA) with Keflavik International Airport (KEF) outside Reykjavik — stretches 3,622 miles (5,829 km), making it the longest Boeing 737 nonstop operated by any U.S. airline and the second-longest 737 route in the world.
For Pacific Northwest travelers, the May 28 inaugural flight removes the need to connect through Los Angeles, San Francisco, New York JFK, or London Heathrow — connections that had previously added 4 to 8 hours of layover time to transatlantic journeys.
The Flight
Flight AS354 departs Seattle daily at 6:30 p.m. and arrives at Keflavik the following morning at 9:00 a.m. — a 7-hour, 30-minute crossing. The return flight, AS355, departs Keflavik at 12:45 p.m. and lands in Seattle at 1:40 p.m., running 25 minutes longer to account for prevailing westbound headwinds. The seasonal service operates through September 8, 2026.
Fares and On Board
Economy fares start as low as $426 one-way on select departure dates. Round-trip economy tickets began selling near $740 at initial sale, with recent fares observed at $655 round-trip. Tickets are available at alaskaair.com and through Alaska’s Mileage Plan program.
Alaska configured the 737 MAX 8 with 161 seats across three cabins. First Class offers 16 seats in a 2-2 layout with 41 inches of pitch. The Premium Class extra-legroom cabin holds 30 seats at up to 38 inches of pitch. The Main Cabin carries 115 seats in a 3-3 layout at 30 inches of pitch.
The aircraft does not feature seatback in-flight entertainment screens; passengers stream content on personal devices. Food and beverage service and complimentary Wi-Fi are included on the transatlantic flight.
A Gateway to All of Europe
Alaska has expanded a codeshare partnership with Icelandair, giving passengers connecting in Reykjavik access to more than 35 daily onward departures to mainland European cities — including Copenhagen, Stockholm, Amsterdam, London, Paris, Berlin, and Dublin — bookable under a single ticket.
Icelandair also operates the Seattle–Keflavik market independently on Boeing 737 aircraft, running two existing daily services plus a seasonal third service six days a week through September.
Alaska’s Broader European Push
The Reykjavik service is the third of three inaugural European routes Alaska launched in spring 2026. The carrier began daily Boeing 787-9 service from Seattle to Rome Fiumicino on April 28 and to London Heathrow on May 21, with the London route operating year-round. Together, the three routes mark the first scheduled transatlantic service in Alaska Airlines’ history.
Alaska Airlines CEO Ben Minicucci signaled the European ambition more than a year before the first flight departed. “Europe is definitely on the radar for 2026,” he said at the Wings Club in New York in March 2025.
The transatlantic expansion was made possible by Alaska’s September 2024 acquisition of Hawaiian Airlines for $1.9 billion. That deal added 25 Airbus A330-200s and Boeing 787-9 Dreamliners to a fleet that had previously consisted entirely of Boeing 737s. The combined airline now operates 394 aircraft.
Minicucci has framed the carrier’s competitive intentions in direct terms. “We’re going to compete against the Big Three and win,” he said in January 2026.
Alaska’s “Alaska Accelerate” strategic plan targets at least 12 intercontinental destinations from Seattle by 2030 and the deployment of up to 17 Dreamliners from the airport.
Competition at Seattle
Alaska holds a 37% market share at Seattle-Tacoma International Airport, making it the dominant carrier there. Delta Air Lines, with a 17% share at SEA, has moved quickly in response. Delta launched four weekly Seattle–Rome flights on May 6 using Airbus A330-900neo jets — which include a dedicated premium economy cabin Alaska’s 787 fleet currently lacks — and preemptively announced Seattle–Barcelona service. Delta also opened a new 10,000-square-foot Delta One Lounge at SEA’s Concourse A.
Not all U.S. carriers have embraced the narrowbody transatlantic model. American Airlines, which operates one of the world’s largest Boeing 737 MAX 8 fleets, has explicitly declined to deploy the aircraft on transatlantic routes, citing operational economics and the differences between narrowbody and widebody international operations.
Key Takeaways
- Alaska Airlines on May 28 began daily nonstop Seattle–Keflavik service — the first transatlantic Boeing 737 MAX 8 flight by a U.S. carrier.
- At 3,622 miles, it is the longest 737 nonstop in U.S. aviation history; the seasonal service ends September 8.
- Pacific Northwest travelers no longer need East Coast layovers to reach Europe; economy round-trips start around $655.
- A codeshare with Icelandair provides access to 35+ onward European departures from Keflavik on a single ticket.
- The route is part of Alaska’s first-ever transatlantic expansion — also including London and Rome — enabled by its $1.9 billion Hawaiian Airlines acquisition.