Alaska Airlines will launch direct flights from Anchorage to Tokyo next summer, along with nonstop routes to three U.S. cities.
Airline officials made the announcement Tuesday morning at the Ted Stevens Anchorage International Airport.
"The Tokyo flight is part of our largest ever nonstop schedule from Anchorage that also includes new seasonal service starting this summer to Austin, Texas, Nashville, Tennessee, and Dallas-Fort Worth, Texas," said Marilyn Romano, regional vice president for the airline.
Daily nonstop flights from Anchorage to Tokyo's Narita International Airport will go from May 13, 2027 to Sept. 7, 2027. Direct flights from Anchorage to Austin, Nashville and Dallas-Fort Worth will all run on Saturdays from June 12, 2027 to Aug. 7, 2027.
The Anchorage airport is the busiest air cargo hub in the country, and the third busiest worldwide, behind Shanghai and Hong Kong.
Marano made the announcement alongside Gov. Mike Dunleavy and Anchorage Mayor Suzanne LaFrance.
Dunleavy said he has regularly traveled to Japan for discussions around trade and the state's proposed liquefied natural gas pipeline.
"You travel for several hours only to realize that you're going back over your home state in order to get to Japan. It's kind of like, Marilyn, can we do something about this so that we're not visiting Alaska twice in the air," the governor joked.
LaFrance touted the announcement as a way to bring more people to the state's largest city.
"Today's announcement brings us even closer to our neighbors in Japan, Texas and Tennessee," LaFrance said. "Increased tourism supports local businesses, highlights our incredible visitor industries, and encourages new investments and development in Alaska."
The new nonstop flights come shortly after Alaska Airlines posted a $147 million quarterly loss. That was mostly due to the high price of fuel, Romano said, but she said the company is pushing ahead.
"This is part of our strategy to win," Romano said. "And so we're not going to slow down on things like this, because this is the way we get more people flying on our airplanes, more people knowing about Alaska Airlines, and it just builds on the future."
The airline will also have three nonstop flights a week from Anchorage to Tokyo in the winter starting in January of 2028, Romano said.
Copyright 2026 Alaska Public Media