First ever Athens direct connection to the US Pacific Northwest with Alaska Airlines in A-May–zing 😊 2027
This is not only a New Route for Athens, but also a brand New US airline after 20 years !!
Beginning May 12, 2027, Alaska Airlines will become the first airline to offer nonstop service between Seattle and Athens. The route will also be the West Coast’s only nonstop flight to Greece’s capital.
Did you know? that it will be 20 years in 2027 since the last time a New American airline was added to Athens’ portfolio!! In 2002 it was only Delta Airlines as an American airline operating to Athens, then in 2007 Continental and US Airways inaugurated services from EWR and PHL. Both airlines switched operations to United Airlines and American Airlines in 2016. Therefore, Alaska Airlines will be a new American operator to Athens, after 20 years.
US strong vote of trust to the Athens market continues, as Alaska Airlines picked Athens for its European expansion in Summer 2027. For the airline Wide-Body fleet, Athens will become its 3rd European destination, following Rome in April 2026 and London Heathrow in May 2026, as next Summer Alaska Airlines will add Athens on the 12th of May. Alaska Airlines will offer a 3 weekly seasonal non-stop service connecting Seattle and Athens, onboard its B787-9 Dreamliner equipment. The Dreamliner will be featuring the airline’s new international experience, including fully reclining Business Class Suites, curated dining, premium amenities and Starlink Wi‑Fi.
Athens/Greece demand from the US is on the rise, with O&D traffic reaching 2mio PAX (round-trip) in 2025, based on IATA AirportIS. That is an increase of 66% compared to pre-Pandemic levels (2019). Furthermore, O&D traffic remains high in the first 7 months of 2026, with a marginal decline of -0.8% to 2025, despite a very challenging year with geopolitical unrest, high fuel and air fare prices.
Athens strong growth in US traffic is mainly driven by spectacular network developments. Back in 2019, Athens was directly connected to 4 US routes with 46 weekly frequencies, while in 2025 and 2026 that has increased to 9 direct routes and 103 weekly frequencies.
Further evidence of Athens/Greece strong demand from the US market, is the fact that Connecting O&D traffic (Indirect) increased by 1.6% in the period Jan-Jul 26vs.25 (Source IATA AirportIS).
Alaska Airlines’ decision to add Athens in its network is expected to be a spectacular business case, as the O&D traffic from Washington, Oregon and California reached 267 thousand O&D round-trip PAX in 2025 not including, the 32 thousand from the nearby Vancouver.
Due to Athens geographical position, any Transatlantic development requires a Wide-Body equipment, making any new addition an even stronger achievement. With the case of Alaska Airlines for example, the Dreamliner has 300 seats, twice the size of recent Narrow Body XLR routes, therefore the Athens market is more than capable to accommodate this demand.
And as the CEO of Alaska Airlines, Mr Ben Minicucci stated on the 20th of August 2026, “We fly where our guests aspire to go, and Athens and Paris have been high on that list for years”.
Welcome Alaska Airlines, Welcome Seattle - thank you Alaska Airlines for your trust in the Athens market! We are fully committed to working closely together for the spectacular success of the route!