This has to be one of the strangest new routes we’ve ever seen: Alaska Airlines is now selling flights from Anchorage to Tokyo on a (relatively) tiny Boeing 737 MAX 8.
Enilria was the first to spot the news on Tuesday, noticing that Alaska is selling nonstop fares on flights between Anchorage (ANC) and Tokyo-Narita (NRT) daily starting in Summer 2027. The first flight will take off from Alaska on May 13 and end for the season on Tuesday, Sept. 7 – the day after Labor Day.
Fares are now available on Alaska’s website and can be booked for as little as 30,000 Alaska miles each way in economy or 120,000 Alaska miles each way in first class.
Most fares are priced much higher, though – on peak summer dates, you can expect to pay as high as 150,000 Atmos Rewards points each way. Cash fares aren’t great either, with nothing less than $1,000 roundtrip, as of this writing.
The Flights will depart Anchorage at 2:10 p.m. and arrive in Tokyo at 3:25 p.m. the following day.
Returning to Alaska, the flights will depart Narita at 9:45 p.m. and arrive at noon the same day. Who said time travel isn’t possible?!
The flight back to Alaska is scheduled to be a full hour shorter than the flight to Tokyo, thanks to the West-to-East jetstream.
This will be the first nonstop flight from Alaska to Asia since 2011, when China Airlines operated nonstop service between ANC and Taipei (TPE).
But what really makes this new route so fascinating is the aircraft – a very small 737 MAX 8 plane that you’re far more likely to see flying between Portland (PDX) and Las Vegas (LAS) than on a long-haul flight across the Pacific Ocean.
The flight between Anchorage (ANC) and Tokyo (NRT) is about 3,400 miles, but it may need to take a slightly longer route to avoid Russian airspace.
Currently, the longest operating 737 MAX 8 flight is between Miami (MIA) and Asunción, Paraguay (ASU) on GOL Airlines at about 3,824 miles. GOL also connects Orlando (MCO) and Brasília (BSB) on the same type of plane, spanning 3,778 miles, as well as three other flights over 3,500 miles in length. Arajet also flies to South America with two 737 MAX 8 flights over 3,700 miles each.
Finally, Icelandair also flies 737 MAX 8s over 3,500 miles – connecting Vancouver (YVR) and Denver (DEN) to its Reykjavik (KEF) hub.
This particular 737 MAX 8 aircraft will have 16 first class recliner seats (no lie-flat beds, here) and 145 Main Cabin economy seats, including six rows of extra legroom economy seats (including the Exit Row), that the airline is selling as “Premium” seating.
This is the smallest and least luxurious plane connecting North America to Asia by a wide margin. And while some narrow-body planes do fly longer routes like this, they’re increasingly being served by Airbus A321 XLRs with well-appointed business class cabins.
This is a fascinating move from Alaska, which has already planted a flag at Tokyo-Narita (NRT) with long-haul flying from its Seattle (SEA) hub.
The route still says “Pending Government Approval” on the Alaska website, but fares are bookable as of now. It will be interesting to see if Alaska can fill those planes with Alaskans or mainland travelers connecting on to Japan if they’re offered a nice discount to do so.
Heck, it could even entice some travelers to book a two-for-one vacation with an extended pit stop in Alaska at either end of the trip.
Bottom Line
Starting next summer, Alaska Airlines will operate flights from Anchorage (ANC) to Tokyo-Narita (NRT) on a single-aisle 737 MAX 8 aircraft. This is a bizarre new route on an aircraft that doesn’t usually cross oceans … at least not like this.
