My apologies if this has been asked before as I don't read the major section too often and I am too lazy to do a search....
I have heard a rumor more than once that Alaska airlines is gearing up to fly to Asia--Tokyo I heard. Not sure if the rumor including a new airframe or the plan was to fly HNL-NRT(HDE) with the mighty 737...seems like a steaming pile of balderdash but thought I run it by all you experts.
Thanks in advance.

They fly there now via DAL codeshare.

It is 8+15 in a 767, and I doubt a 737-anything could make that. Maybe a BBJ, but not an AS 737-800, even with winglets.

Rumor has it, when AS was first getting certified for ETOPS they looked into PANC-Chitose (Sapporo, on the northern island of Hokkaido). It's 250 miles longer than the longest route we do, which is PANC-KORD. I'm sure many factors killed this route, but operationally, the company didn't want to have ETOPS alternates in Russia.

A BBJ can do Anchorage to Macau in Southern China.

Once we merge with Hawaiian, it'll be a done deal.

Maybe....Just maybe. HA is a target of either DAL or ALK, its just a matter of when...... I just hope they keep the intra-island service in the same style that HA has now. I hope that everyone gets the ALK microbrews on board (or is that just horizon?).

If DAL, HA and ALK merge, just imagine.....

Microbrew beer afternoons, Woodford Reserve bourbon at dinner, and real guava juice at breakfast....Yum.

It'll help mask the service and attitude problems of the cat rancher mid-seniority, too old to be attractive or fun; but yet too young to remember how to be a professional, attentive, fantastic FA (think Pan-Am/TWA era in the heyday....)

Pretty sure it's just on Horizon. I'll be sipping some Thursday PDX-ONT.

Not sure what Skywest's level of service is on those flights, but that's no longer a Horizon route. Same plane, different name/pilots flying it though.

Why would AS buy HA? I think that rumor started, because it's the only legacy smaller than Alaska. The company might be had for a little less than $300M, but that's because it struggles to make money.