Alaska Air Cargo and Hawaiian Air Cargo will offer belly capacity from Seattle to Tokyo and Seoul from May, following the acquisition of Hawaiian by Alaska’s parent group.
Daily nonstop service on Hawaiian Airlines' widebody aircraft between Seattle (SEA) and Tokyo Narita, Japan (NRT) will begin on 12 May, while nonstop service between Seattle and Seoul Incheon, South Korea (ICN) will start in October.
The announcement follows Seattle-based Alaska Air Group’s acquisition of Honolulu-based Hawaiian for $1.9bn. The transaction expanded Alaska’s operation to include transpacific flights and bolstered its fleet with its first widebody jets.
An enhanced domestic network with greater belly cargo capacity for Alaska Air Cargo and Hawaiian Air Cargo will also launch this March, said Alaska Air Cargo.
Shipments throughout the global network can be booked across both carriers on one air waybill (AWB).
There are also plans to increase Hawaiian Airlines’ service between Honolulu and Tokyo Haneda (HND) to twice daily, growing from 12 to 14 flights a week.
Hawaiian will also continue to offer nonstop service between Honolulu and both Osaka and Fukuoka for a total of 24 weekly roundtrips between Hawaiʻi and Japan.
Alaska also noted: "We have started co-locating our cargo operations at stations served by both Alaska Air Cargo and Hawaiian Air Cargo, allowing customers of both airlines to pick up and drop off shipments at a single location. Our stations in New York (JFK) and Seattle (SEA) have already combined locations, and stations in Lihu’e and Maui will begin co-locating this month.”
Ian Morgan, vice president of cargo, Alaska Airlines, said: "Together, Alaska Air Cargo and Hawaiian Air Cargo serve three times more connecting markets than either of us could reach alone.
“With our combined team’s expertise across the Pacific to Asia, as well as connecting the West Coast across the country, we are poised to support customers around the world in ways we simply couldn’t before.”
