Alaska Airlines Announces Nonstop Flights Between Seattle and Rome

Updated: June 3, 2025, 9:28am CDT

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First-Ever Nonstop Flights Between Seattle and Rome
Final Thoughts

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Big news out of the Pacific Northwest this morning: Alaska Airlines has shared that it will fly nonstop between its Seattle (SEA) hub and Rome (FCO) starting in May of next year.

“Serving Rome nonstop from Seattle is a dream come true. As an Italian American whose parents emigrated from Italy, this is a particularly meaningful addition to our network. Rome has been at the top of the list ever since we announced our new global gateway out of Seattle. Our guests have been asking for an easy way to get to Italy for years, and we’re thrilled to provide it to people in the Northwest and beyond,” said Alaska Airlines CEO Ben Minicucci.

There’s quite a bit to unpack here — let’s get right to it!

First-Ever Nonstop Flights Between Seattle and Rome

When Alaska begins flying between Seattle (SEA) and Rome (FCO) in May 2026, it will be the first time the 2 cities have been connected with nonstop service and Alaska’s first-ever time serving Europe.

Alaska says the Italian capital is the largest market (in terms of passenger demand) currently not served nonstop from Seattle, and among the most-asked-for destinations by its Mileage Plan members. Flights will initially operate 4 times weekly according to the following schedule:

Depart Seattle (SEA) 6 p.m. — Arrive Rome (FCO) 1:45 p.m. (+1) on Mondays, Wednesdays, Fridays, and Sundays
Depart Rome (FCO) 3:45 p.m. — Arrive Seattle (SEA) 6 p.m. on Mondays, Tuesdays, Thursdays, and Saturdays

Now this is where things get interesting. Flights will be operated by Boeing 787-9 Dreamliners. However, unlike Alaska’s other newly launched long-haul routes to Asia that are operated by Hawaiian Airlines, the Seattle-Rome route will be operated by Alaska Airlines’ own wide-body jets, on which the airline will introduce an entirely new long-haul international passenger experience.

Until this point, Alaska Airlines has had to rely on Hawaiian’s existing fleet of long-haul aircraft to fuel its long-haul expansion, which includes an already operational route between Seattle and Tokyo (NRT) and service between Seattle and Seoul (ICN), launching in September.

Hawaiian Airlines A330 at HNL — Alaska’s new long-haul routes are technically operated by Hawaiian Airlines for the time being. Image Credit: Nick Ellis

Moving forward, Alaska plans to operate all long-haul flying out of Seattle with Alaska-branded Dreamliners, which were ordered by Hawaiian Airlines before it merged with Alaska.

Flights are not yet on sale, but the airline says tickets will be available via alaskaair.com and hawaiianairlines.com this fall.

Hot Tip:

The loophole that allows you to transfer American Express Membership Rewards points to Alaska Airlines is ending soon. Here’s everything you need to know!

Final Thoughts

Alaska Airlines is soon going to look a lot different. The airline has famously maintained a narrow-body-only fleet for decades, which has only allowed it to operate domestic and shorter international routes. Soon, though, it will offer an all-new long-haul product, ushered in with the launch of this new nonstop route between Seattle and Rome.

We are certainly excited to see a Dreamliner painted in Alaska’s iconic livery and what else the airline has in store for its long-haul plans!