Alaska Airlines rolls out business-class suites and new lounges in premium push

Alaska Airlines is adding business-class suites and premium-economy seats to many of the aircraft it flies, along with new lounges.

The business class will go by two names: Aurora Suites on Alaska and Leihōkū Suites on Hawaiian. Installation starts in 2028 on Airbus A330-200s, Boeing 787-9s and 787-10s, and on a subfleet of at least 25 Boeing 737 Max 10s. According to the airline, the Max 10s will be its first narrowbody aircraft with lie-flat suites, and among a small number of Max fleets worldwide to have suites on board.

New lounges are planned in Honolulu, San Diego and Seattle. The Seattle facility will be the airline's largest to date and its first reserved for business-class passengers.

The carrier calls the move a shift upmarket. Chief executive Ben Minicucci has framed the goal as turning the Seattle-based airline into a fourth US global carrier, an effort that includes basing Hawaiian's 787s in Seattle and launching long-haul routes to destinations such as London, Rome, Seoul and Tokyo. The suites, premium-economy seats and lounges are part of the same plan.

Minicucci said in April that the work over the next three years is to bring the product and the lounges up to standard to realise the vision of a premium global carrier.

Alaska's main US competitors, among them American Airlines, Delta Air Lines and United Airlines, have introduced or upgraded premium offerings over the past few years. Foreign carriers have added new suites and seats as well.

The announcement came the same day Alaska management met Wall Street analysts at its Seattle headquarters to set out financial targets for the coming years.