Alaska Airlines plans to introduce nonstop flights between Anchorage and Tokyo Narita on May 13, 2027, marking its first nonstop service from its namesake state to Japan. The route will operate daily through September 7, 2027, then resume with three weekly flights in January 2028.
The 3,433-mile journey, expected to take approximately eight hours, will be operated by a single-aisle Boeing 737 MAX 8. Alaska will be the first airline to deploy the MAX 8 between North America and Narita. Its front cabin will feature domestic-style first-class recliners rather than a long-haul business-class product.
The announcement also includes three seasonal Anchorage routes: Austin, Dallas–Fort Worth, and Nashville. All will use MAX 8 aircraft and operate on Saturdays from June 12 through August 7, 2027. American Airlines already serves the Dallas–Fort Worth route, while the Austin, Nashville, and Narita routes currently have no nonstop service.
The expansion builds on Alaska's Seattle–Narita service, which launched in 2025, and its planned Seattle–Osaka service beginning in May 2027. Alaska merged with Hawaiian Airlines in 2024; Hawaiian continues to serve Osaka Kansai and Tokyo Haneda from Honolulu.
Anchorage–Narita also has historical significance: several international airlines used the route as part of refueling stops in Anchorage into the early 1990s. The Boeing 747-400's arrival in 1989 allowed many airlines to bypass Anchorage and fly nonstop to Japan. Despite its length, the new Alaska route does not rank among the world's ten longest MAX 8 routes.
