When the Northern Lights Meet the Dreamliner
Alaska Airlines’ 787 livery and what the Hawaiian merger quietly tells us about the airline’s long-haul future
Alaska Airlines just painted a 787 to look like the aurora borealis.
I’m not being poetic. That’s literally what they did.
Deep blues bleeding into greens, sweeping across the fuselage like the northern lights I’ve seen countless times from the flight deck on polar routes. Took a team of artists nearly 1,000 hours over 13 days. New painting technique, apparently something about how they layered the gradients.
It’s gorgeous. But that’s not why I’m writing about it.
Here’s the backstory
This Dreamliner exists because Alaska bought Hawaiian Airlines last year. And when you buy Hawaiian, you don’t just get lei greetings and routes to Maui. You get widebody aircraft.
Hawaiian had ordered these 787s years ago. Big plans for Pacific expansion.
Now? Those planes are getting repainted, rebranded, and moved to Seattle.
Let that sink in. Seattle. Not Honolulu.
Alaska’s play is pretty clear: every 787 becomes an Alaska jet flying long-haul out of Seattle. The A330s stay Hawaiian, working the Honolulu hub. Same company, two brands, totally different jobs.
What’s actually launching
Seattle’s going global. By 2030, Alaska wants at least 12 intercontinental destinations. Here’s what’s already locked in:
Tokyo and Seoul—flying now. Rome starts April 28. London Heathrow on May 21. Reykjavik May 28.London’s the big one. Daily. Year-round. That route’s been the number one ask from Pacific Northwest travelers forever, and Delta’s had a lock on it. Not anymore.
What I find interesting
Alaska’s building an entire 787 crew base in Seattle. That’s not a small thing. New type ratings, new training programs, new operational procedures. This airline has never operated widebodies under its own certificate. They’re learning as they go—which, honestly, is how aviation has always worked.
Meanwhile, in Hawaii, people are mourning. Pualani, that beautiful woman on Hawaiian’s tail won’t be on the Dreamliners. Chester (Alaska’s Eskimo face) stays on the 737s, but the 787s get this new aurora look exclusively.
Mergers always kill something. Question is whether what grows in its place is worth it.
Alright, different sections for different readers here:
😰 For my anxious flyers
I know some of you are working up the courage for that first transatlantic trip. So let me tell you about the airplane you’d be on.
The 787 was designed differently. Cabin pressure sits at 6,000 feet equivalent instead of 8,000. Doesn’t sound like much, but your body notices. More oxygen, less of that drained feeling, less of the low-grade panic that altitude can trigger. Humidity’s higher too, you won’t land feeling like beef jerky.
Those big windows? No plastic shades. They dim electronically. Sounds like a gimmick but it actually helps if you’re the type who needs to see outside to stay calm (I get it).
And the composite fuselage the carbon fiber stuff the 787’s made of it flexes more than aluminum. Turbulence feels slightly different. Softer, somehow. The plane’s doing what it’s supposed to do: absorbing energy, bending instead of fighting. That’s good engineering, not something going wrong.
🥸 For the avgeeks
Watch the fleet numbers. Alaska just ordered five 787-10s—the stretched version. Less range, more seats. That’s a bet that Seattle demand will justify the capacity. Interesting choice.
First aurora bird is registered N784HA. Note the HA. Hawaiian’s ghost, still stamped in the metal. These airplanes carry their history whether the paint acknowledges it or not.
💺For frequent flyers
Atmos Rewards (their merged loyalty program) gives you 1 point per mile on these long-haul routes. The real news: Titanium status gets day-of-departure lie-flat upgrades when available. That’s genuinely unusual. And Hawaiian joins oneworld this spring, so your points are about to work in a lot more places.
The thing is
A regional airline named after a state most Americans can’t find on a map just started competing for London business travelers.
And they announced it by painting an airplane like the northern lights.
I’ve been flying 25 years. The industry still surprises me.
Pilot Nick
What do you think about Alaska’s move? I actually read the comments.
