In Photos: Alaska Airlines Unveils Boeing 787 ‘Global’ Livery

Prior to the takeover of Hawaiian Airlines, Alaska Airlines mainly operated flights within the United States and parts of Central America. Following the acquisition, they adopted Hawaiian’s international routes, as well as use their A330s to operate flights to East Asia out of Seattle.

With access to a brand-new fleet of Boeing 787-9 Dreamliners, Alaska wasted no time in announcing new routes out of Seattle (SEA) to London-Heathrow (LHR), Rome (FCO) and Incheon (ICN). It’s safe to say that Alaska and Hawaiian’s brands don’t exactly mesh, and as a result, Alaska has chosen to paint its 787s in a separate ‘Global’ livery to represent its foray into the international market.

Back in August, Alaska Airlines Chief Commercial Officer Andrew Harrison, said:

“Our new 787 exterior embodies Alaska’s transition to a global airline with beauty, grace and a nod to our heritage. As we significantly expand to new destinations around the globe, we’re eager for more and more travelers to recognize our new livery as being Alaska Airlines and appreciate the outstanding service we’ve long been known for.”

Credit: Alaska Airlines

The new theme takes inspiration from the Aurora Borealis (otherwise known as the Northern Lights). Using a similar color palette of blues and greens, the 787 will feature swooped lines running from the mid-section of the aircraft, going all the way up to the tail. Those lines are then accented with black to give the effect of looking at the Northern Lights.

Credit: Alaska Airlines

Ben Minicucci, CEO of the Alaska Airlines Group said:

“As we transform into the country’s fourth largest global airline, we are proud to introduce a new, global livery for the Alaska brand. The design is a tribute to Alaska’s rich history and a reflection of our bold vision for international growth and our commitment to connect the Pacific Northwest to the world.”

Credit: Alaska Airlines

Credit: Alaska Airlines

While I understand their decision to go with a more global theme, I feel like the new livery does not pay any homage to the Hawaiian brand, as most of the colors and design are similar to Alaska’s current brand. On the other hand, Alaska has promised this it will still keep Hawaiian’s livery intact on its fleet of Airbus A330s, A321neos and Boeing 717s. For how long? That’s for you to guess.

The new livery was painted on N784HA, an aircraft that was originally supposed to be delivered to Hawaiian. The Pualani featured on Hawaiian’s first four Dreamliners will also be repainted in the new Global theme by Spring of this year.

Massive Boeing Order

When I first started writing this article this morning, it was solely for the purpose of covering the new livery, but to my surprise, Alaska dropped news of a new Boeing 737 MAX 10 and 787-10 Dreamliner mega order.

The airline has placed a firm order for 105 Boeing 737 MAX 10s, with option purchase rights for 35 additional units. Meanwhile, they’ve exercised their full rights, and will take on the remaining five 787s in the -10 variant. With this new order in the books, they have now secured delivery slots extending through 2035. In total, they will end up with 17 Dreamliners (12 787-9s and five 787-10s) once those from Hawaiian are transferred to Alaska.

Regarding this latest order, Alaska’s CEO said:

“This fleet investment builds on the strong foundation Alaska has created to support steady, scalable and sustained growth, and is another building block in executing our Alaska Accelerate strategic plan. These planes will fuel our expansion to more destinations across the globe and ensure our guests travel aboard the newest, most fuel-efficient and state-of-the-art aircraft. We are incredibly proud to be partnering with Boeing, a Pacific Northwest neighbor and a company that stands as a symbol of American innovation and manufacturing.”

This is certainly the carrier’s biggest order to date, but some of these MAX 10s will be used to replace their older 737 NGs. Nonetheless, they are still eyeing growth, with plans to operate 475 aircraft by the end of 2030, and 550 by the end of 2035. The MAX 10 will also complement their already growing fleet of MAX 8s and 9s.

$600 Million investment for Hawaiian brand

The Hawaiian Airlines brand lives on with the announcement of a $600 million modernization investment program with plans to improve the Pacific island chain airports, aircraft and general guest experience.

Hawaiian has a relatively young fleet of 24 Airbus A330-200s, being delivered new from 2010 through 2017. Even at such a ‘tender’ age, their interiors are extremely dated, reminiscent of something you might see on a 20+ year old aircraft.

Starting in 2028, Hawaiian’s A330s will finally get some love, with a brand-new interior featuring new seats, carpets, lighting, business class suites (first class when operating domestic routes), and a premium economy cabin. These aircraft will continue offering Starlink Wi-Fi, and will include Bluetooth-enabled in-flight seat-back entertainment screens.

Hawaiian’s main airports and lounges will also undergo transformation works from 2029. Customers can expect to see updated lobbies and gate areas at Honolulu (HNL), Lihue (LIH), Kahului (OGG), Kona (KOA) and Hilo (ITO). They also plan to build a 10,600 square-foot premium lounge at the entrance of the Mauka Concourse in Terminal 1.

There will also be other smaller changes including an updated website and mobile app, and an updated loyalty program. Once Alaska and Hawaiian merge their booking systems, customers can see better integration between the two platforms.

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