• Alaska Air Group announced new premium economy seating on Alaska and Hawaiian Airlines flights.
• The large recliners will have leg and calf rests, 38 inches of pitch, and upgraded dining.
• It also announced upgraded business-class and lie-flat seats on some Boeing 737 Max 10s.

Alaska Air Group is the latest US air carrier to shore up its premium seating offerings — part of an industry-wide boom to cater to passengers who will pay more for premium perks.

In September, Alaska Air Group, which operates Alaska Airlines and Hawaiian Airlines, unveiled a new premium economy cabin called "Premium Reserve" and upgraded business-class suites. The new cabins are planned for long-haul international flights and select domestic routes.

Since acquiring Hawaiian for nearly $2 billion in 2024, Alaska has been pursuing its "Alaska Accelerate" plan to expand its premium offerings and international presence from its Seattle hub, including two new routes to Japan and Tahiti starting in 2027.

With its upgrades and expansion, Alaska increasingly looks like a major global carrier rather than the largely domestic airline it was once known as.

"We believe premium is more than a seat," Ben Minicucci, CEO of Alaska Air Group, said in a statement. "It's how guests feel from the moment they book their trip to the moment they arrive at the airport, to when they're in the air with us."

A new premium cabin and lie-flat seats on 737 Max 10s

Available to book on both airlines starting next summer, Alaska and Hawaiian's new premium economy will feature wide reclining seats with leg and calf rests and a pitch — or the distance from one seat to the seat in front of it — of 38 inches.

It will also include a 16-inch, Bluetooth-capable screen, outlets and USB-C charging ports, and upgraded in-flight dining menus.

Alaska already offers a premium-economy-like cabin called Premium Class, but the cabin type will be a first for Hawaiian.

Premium Reserve will be available on Alaska's 787 and select 737 Max 10 aircraft, as well as Hawaiian's A330 fleet, with flights beginning in 2028. Alaska doesn't yet have the Max 10, which was nearing the finish line for certification after years of delays tied to safety and quality concerns. But CNBC reported on Monday that regulators have again delayed certification due to a newly discovered software issue.

Beyond premium economy, lie-flat business class — called "Aurora Suites" on Alaska and "Leihōkū Suites" on Hawaiian to retain each airline's distinct branding — has gotten a refresh.

Hawaiian's Leihōkū Suite, its 787 business-class product, serves select routes to Asia, Oceania, and North America. It will be added to the A330 and feature "hotel-quality bedding and enhanced onboard amenities."

Alaska's Aurora Suites will be deployed on all 787 Dreamliners and include upgraded upholstery and materials. Both suites will have sliding doors, Bluetooth, big in-flight screens, and access to airport lounges.

Aurora will also be installed on 737 Max 10 planes flying select transcontinental routes, joining the increasing number of airline narrowbody planes with lie-flat premium seats.

These premium cabins won't be cheap. A round-trip business-class flight from Seattle to Tokyo in mid-March is about $6,500 on Alaska; the same seat to London is about $5,300. Basic economy is about one-fifth of each of those business-class fares.

Hawaiian Airlines' fleet of A330s will also offer new nonstop flights from Seattle to Osaka, Japan, and Papeete, Tahiti, beginning in May and June 2027, respectively. Introductory round-trip Main Cabin fares will start at $1,199 to Osaka and $999 to Papeete; the planes will have Hawaiian's existing business-class product until the fleet's new interiors begin rolling out in 2028.

Alaska is facing fierce competition. It's up against legacy US carriers with already massive widebody fleets, extensive international networks, and well-established premium products.

The airline knows it's playing catch-up.

"I think where you're seeing strength with the legacy carriers is in the premium space and in the international space," Minicucci said in an April 2026 earnings call. "And if you look at our strategy under Alaska Accelerate, that's exactly where we're leaning into."

Courting passengers who pay a premium

In post-COVID air travel, US airlines are moving away from packing as many people as possible into economy to increase revenue. Instead, they are pivoting toward customers who will spend more on premium travel experiences, such as airline lounges and higher-tier in-flight amenities.

A McKinsey analysis published in June found that on transatlantic wide-body flights, business-class cabins are earning almost as much as economy cabins, even though they carry far fewer passengers.

That premium demand has remained despite rising oil prices and soaring airfares amid the war in Iran, partly buoyed by continued spending from more affluent travelers.

"The folks who are more oriented towards purchasing into our premium cabins have been super resilient," Minicucci said in a 2025 earnings call.

United Airlines' director of onboard products and partnerships, Peter Wolkowski, told Business Insider during the UK's Farnborough Airshow in July that premium economy is its fastest-growing cabin on the company's 787 fleet.

In 2025, Delta's premium revenue increased 7% year-over-year, while its main cabin revenue decreased. On an earnings call in October 2025, then-Delta president Glen Hauenstein predicted that premium revenue was expected to exceed Main Cabin revenue by 2027.

"When you think about what's different and what's changed over the last 10 or 15 years, the premium products used to be loss leaders, and now they're the highest-margin products," he said.

• I flew on a "boutique" Taiwanese airline called Starlux, and it blew me away.
• The seat was like a private pod, and the food was some of the best I've ever had.
• The crew seemed rushed during boarding, but were impeccable inflight.

I'm a regular business-class traveler, having flown on dozens of airlines and hundreds of thousands of miles over the years.

I often get asked the same question: What's the best business-class seat you've ever flown in?

It's not the usual fan favorites of Singapore Airlines or Emirates. It's Starlux Airlines, a Taiwanese carrier many Americans have never heard of.

Starlux first flew in January 2020 and bills itself as a "boutique" international airline that operates nonstop flights from Taipei to several US cities, including Los Angeles, San Francisco, and Seattle.

My flight was on an Airbus A350-900 from Taipei to San Francisco, a nearly 12-hour overnight flight. It was the second leg of a trip that started in Kuala Lumpur, and the entire itinerary cost 85,000 Alaska Airlines miles.

The cash fare on this route ranges from $2,600 to over $5,000, depending on the season, so the points redemption — Alaska is a Starlux partner — was a very good deal. And the experience blew me away.

The whole idea from the beginning was to build a luxury airline from nothing with meticulous attention to detail and an emphasis on the small stuff.

After flying Starlux, those minor details made all the difference. Here's what my flight was like and why I'd easily book again.

The seat felt like a private suite

Every seat in Starlux's business class opens straight into the aisle, and every one has a sliding door. The cabin is decorated with faux marble finishes and shiny black panels. It honestly looks more like a boutique hotel lobby than the inside a plane.

This extreme attention to detail is what sold me most.

My favorite example: there's a little gap under the storage cabinet door, so you can leave a charging cable running out of it with the door closed. Exploring the seat illuminated several thoughtful design choices. The pod felt deliberate in a way some brand-new airline seats just aren't.

Some people call business class doors a gimmick, mostly because they don't go all the way up. I loved mine anyway. Once the seat was flat and the door was shut, it felt like my own little room, further emphasized by the warm mood lighting, pristine leather accents, and large seat walls.

A flight attendant handed me pajamas before we'd even pushed back, so I changed right away.

After dinner, the crew made up my bed with a thick mattress pad and one of the softest blankets I've ever been given on a plane.

The footwell angles inward slightly, which makes it feel a bit tight when you're lying flat, but I slept well regardless. On an overnight flight this long, that's what matters most.

The food was some of the best I've had in the air

Dinner is where Starlux left every other business-class flight behind.

It started with warm, fluffy garlic bread, which felt out of place alongside the Asian meal, but I was thrilled to see it. When the flight attendant came to clear my appetizer, she asked if I'd like more bread, to which I obviously said yes.

Then a creamy miso mushroom soup showed up, and I'm not exaggerating when I say it's one of the best things I've eaten on a plane. It was rich and savory, the kind of thing I can still taste if I think about it today.

The main was beef with fried rice, which was flavorful and cooked to perfection.

Dessert was Italian gelato that was actually soft enough to eat straight away, which basically never happens with ice cream at 38,000 feet.

Breakfast before landing: waffles with figs were also notable. One of the few airline breakfasts I'd happily order again.

All of the food served looked as good as it tasted. Every course was properly plated, the flight attendant talked me through each dish, and she reset my table between courses without me noticing.

The crew truly elevated the experience

Starlux isn't perfect, and the first 20 minutes of my flight proved it. Pre-flight service felt as if the crew was simply going through the motions rather than trying to create a good experience.

But when the meal service started, it was like a switch flipped.

One flight attendant greeted me by name and knelt down next to my seat to take my order. At one point, my seatbelt locked up while I was reaching for my amenity kit; she saw it happen and handed me the kit before I'd said a word.

My main course came out a few minutes late, and she apologized profusely for it, which she really didn't need to do, but it tells you what standard this crew holds itself to.

By the time dinner was over, even the crew members who'd seemed checked out at first were warm and attentive. When I woke up and asked for tea, it was there almost immediately, with lemon and sugar on the side.

I love how fun Starlux is

The other thing I love about Starlux is that it doesn't take itself too seriously.

There's a space theme running through the whole airline, from the Galactic Lounge in Taipei to the COSMILE loyalty program. Since 2024, it's been working with Peanuts, so Snoopy turns up on themed flights and merch.

On my flight, the entertainment screen displayed a Snoopy welcome for me, and I still carry my things in a Starlux Snoopy tote bag.

Even the toilet paper is custom printed with a runway design. All of these things make the airline feel like it's enjoying itself.

Starlux got the three things that actually matter right: the seat, the food, and the crew. And it did it with a sense of fun that a lot of the big-name carriers have somehow lost along the way.

I've flown business class on dozens of airlines, including some of the world's most famous seats. If you're flying between the West Coast and Asia, I'd book Starlux.

Starlux did not respond to a request for comment from Business Insider.