Alaska Airlines’ End Of Era

With 2026 approaching, it’s the end of a longstanding and integral era at Alaska Airlines as it makes a landmark change.

The airline will enter the new year without its partnership with LATAM, which has been in effect for nearly a decade.

Confirmed in a filing with the U.S. Department of Transportation (DOT), the Alaska Airlines Group, including the subsidiaries of Horizon Air and Skywest Airlines, has now axed their codeshare agreement with LATAM.

Such an announcement was flagged many months ago and is now being formally implemented, ending the decade-long partnership between the two airlines.

While the move was confirmed in a filing, Alaska Airlines had already been implementing changes to how customers could benefit from its relationship with LATAM, which was ending following an announcement.

For example, on October 1, 2025, the two airlines ended the longstanding reciprocal frequent-flyer redemption program, removing the ability to redeem points for travel on either airline’s aircraft.

Since the two airlines came together, much has changed, most visibly through the alliances they are part of: the oneworld alliance, which was long at the top of the decade, and Alaska Airlines, which joined one year later in 2021.

All this comes as LATAM has shifted its alliance to better collaborate with Delta, another U.S. carrier. Delta and LATAM work closely, not just on customer benefits from route connectivity, but also on shaping decisions to benefit both airlines within the United States; it’s a clear strategy.

As a result, analysts often believe that the partnership with Alaska Airlines was likely a lucky one to have lasted as long as it did, given the tight relationship between LATAM and Delta and how the latter often dictates strategies and relationships its partners have with other airlines, especially competitors.

Additionally, Alaska Airlines has since acquired Hawaiian Airlines in a deal to bridge the gap between itself and larger U.S. airlines and to solidify its presence across the Western U.S. What consolidation such as this does is change the strategy and broader long-term picture for a carrier, while not the sole reason, airlines can drift apart across a decade in more ways than one.

More News At Alaska Airlines

Alongside changes to its relationships with other airlines worldwide, Alaska Airlines also announced in December a commitment to Anchorage and Portland, with seven new routes to landmark cities across the United States.

Continuing to strengthen connectivity from the Western United States remains a focus, with key hubs in Anchorage and Portland set to receive additional flights in 2026.

From Spring 2026, Alaska Airlines confirmed that three additional routes will launch out of Anchorage, with service to Boise, Spokane, and, arguably, the featured route to Boston, the east coast of the United States, with lengthy service by the airline’s standards.

Over in Portland, there’ll be a total of 4 new routes, including service to Bellingham, Everett, Pasco, Washington, and Jackson Hole, Wyoming. But for the business, which is progressing with services towards more markets on the back of a strong 2025, that wasn’t all confirmed.

In the second week of December, the airline announced it was selling tickets for its new nonstop flight between Seattle and London Heathrow, to be operated by the Boeing 787-9 Dreamliner, following its acquisition of Hawaiian Airlines and its bid to make Seattle a new global gateway for international flying.

The new route will commence on May 21, 2026, with year-round daily service, and the launch of ticket sales complements the nonstop service between Seattle and Rome, which has also had tickets made available to the public.