Alaska and Hawaiian Unveil Aurora and Leihōkū Suites, Plus Four New Premium Lounges by 2028
Alaska Air Group announced on September 29 a sweeping overhaul of the premium travel experience across its Alaska Airlines and Hawaiian Airlines brands, introducing new lie-flat business suites, a new premium-economy cabin tier, and four new or significantly expanded airport lounges. The rollout, which the combined carrier frames as central to its push into longer-haul international flying following its 2024 acquisition of Hawaiian, will unfold in stages between 2027 and 2028.
New Suites: Aurora for Alaska, Leihōkū for Hawaiian
The centerpiece of the announcement is a new business-class product called Aurora Suites, which Alaska will introduce on its Boeing 787 Dreamliners and on at least some of its incoming Boeing 737 MAX 10 narrowbodies. Hawaiian Airlines will introduce a parallel product, branded Leihōkū Suites, on its Airbus A330 widebodies as part of a cabin retrofit expected to be completed by 2028. According to reporting that reviewed the carriers' release, the Hawaiian A330 reconfiguration will include 22 Leihōkū Suites pods arranged in a 1-2-1 layout, each with a closing door — a format that has become the industry standard for full-service long-haul business class over the past several years.
Alaska Air Group chief executive Ben Minicucci was quoted describing premium economy as the "true piece that's missing" from the airlines' push into international long-haul flying, underscoring that the suites are only one part of a broader cabin strategy rather than a standalone upgrade.
Premium Reserve: A New Middle Tier
Alongside the suites, the airlines are introducing a new premium-economy cabin called Premium Reserve, positioned between standard economy and the new business suites. Premium Reserve will appear across multiple aircraft types in different seat counts: reporting on the announcement cited 12 Premium Reserve seats on the 737 MAX 10, 35 on the 787, and 28 on the A330. Hawaiian Airlines CEO Diana Birkett Rakow framed the expanded range of cabin tiers as a way for the carriers to diversify revenue across that full set of price points — a signal that the new middle cabin is meant to capture travelers willing to pay above economy fares but not ready for a full business-class ticket.
The A330 retrofit tied to Hawaiian's Leihōkū Suites and Premium Reserve cabin will also remove 24 main-cabin seats per aircraft and convert roughly a dozen more into higher-tier categories, according to detailed reporting on the configuration change — a trade-off common to premium-heavy retrofits, where carriers accept fewer total seats in exchange for a cabin mix they expect to generate more revenue per flight.
Four Lounges, Three Airports
The announcement also detailed a significant expansion of airport lounge space:
- A combined 41,000-square-foot lounge complex is planned for Seattle-Tacoma International Airport's C Concourse, incorporating both an Aurora-branded lounge and a roughly 500-seat Alaska Lounge, expected to open in late 2027.
- A new Hawaiian Lounge of about 13,000 square feet, with roughly 200-person capacity, is planned for Terminal 1 at Honolulu International Airport, expected to open in early 2028.
- A new Alaska Lounge of about 14,000 square feet is planned for San Diego International Airport, targeted for 2028.
The airlines also said top-tier frequent flyers — those holding Titanium or Suites status — will receive priority check-in and bypass access through security lines, a perk increasingly common among US carriers competing for high-value, frequent travelers.
Separately, and effective October 1, 2026, Hawaiian Airlines passengers at Honolulu will see check-in operations move to Terminal 2 from Terminal 1, and the airline is extending its baggage drop-off cutoff from 30 minutes to 50 minutes before departure — a more immediate, near-term change arriving well before the broader lounge and cabin rollout.
Fleet Context
The premium push is tied to broader fleet changes across the combined airline group. Hawaiian is retiring its Boeing 717 fleet, used primarily on short inter-island routes, and replacing that flying with Boeing 737s, which the companies say will help standardize operations across the merged carrier. Alaska CEO Ben Minicucci connected that narrowbody simplification to the carrier's broader cost and pricing strategy, framing fleet consolidation as a tool to help manage fares rather than a separate initiative from the premium cabin overhaul.
Alaska's incoming 737 MAX 10 deliveries — the first of which are expected in 2027 — are central to the timeline for Aurora Suites, since that aircraft type is one of the two platforms (alongside the 787) slated to carry the new business product. Any slippage in Boeing's MAX 10 delivery schedule, which has faced broader certification delays across the industry in 2026, could in principle affect how quickly Aurora Suites reach a meaningful share of Alaska's premium network, though the companies did not address that risk directly in the announcement as reported.
How the Numbers Compare Across the Two Fleets
The reconfiguration plans differ meaningfully between the two carriers' widebody and narrowbody fleets, reflecting the different roles each aircraft type plays in the combined network. The 787, which Alaska is building out as its primary long-haul international aircraft, gets the largest allocation of Premium Reserve seating at 35 per aircraft — nearly three times the count planned for the 737 MAX 10. That split makes sense given the aircraft's missions: the 787 is intended for longer sectors where premium economy demand is traditionally stronger, while the MAX 10 is a narrowbody aircraft likely to see a mix of domestic and shorter international use where the economics of a large premium cabin are less favorable. The A330's 28 Premium Reserve seats sit between the two, consistent with Hawaiian's use of the type on medium- and long-haul Pacific routes where the carrier already offers a mix of cabin classes.
The lounge square-footage figures also tell a story about where the combined carrier sees its busiest premium traffic. The Seattle complex, at a combined 41,000 square feet across the Aurora and Alaska-branded spaces, dwarfs the Honolulu and San Diego lounges by a wide margin, reflecting Seattle-Tacoma's role as Alaska's primary hub and the airport where the carrier handles the largest volume of connecting premium traffic. Honolulu's 13,000-square-foot lounge, while smaller, is notable for being Hawaiian's first dedicated premium lounge space at its home airport of the scale described in the announcement, serving a passenger base that includes both the carrier's trans-Pacific long-haul customers and travelers connecting onward to inter-island flights.
Industry Backdrop
The announcement arrives amid a broader scramble among US and international carriers to add premium cabin capacity and lounge access, a trend driven by carriers' observation that premium travelers generate disproportionate revenue relative to the number of seats they occupy. Multiple large US carriers have in recent months announced their own lounge expansions, cabin retrofits, or new premium products, underscoring that Alaska and Hawaiian's announcement is not occurring in isolation but as part of an industry-wide response to strong demand for premium travel even as some carriers have faced softer demand in standard economy segments. The emphasis on flexible rewards earning — letting Alaska and Hawaiian's combined loyalty program credit members based on distance flown, amount spent, or number of segments — also mirrors a broader shift among US carriers toward revenue-based or hybrid loyalty earning structures over the past several years, rather than the purely distance-based mileage programs that once defined the industry.
Why the Timing
The announcement lands as Alaska Air Group continues to integrate Hawaiian Airlines, acquired in 2024, and as the combined carrier positions itself to compete more directly with larger US network carriers on long-haul international routes — a category Hawaiian has long served via its Pacific network but which Alaska has historically lacked at scale. Premium cabins and lounge access have become one of the clearest battlegrounds among US carriers seeking to grow higher-margin revenue from frequent and affluent travelers, a trend visible in recent product launches and lounge expansions across the industry. By rolling out new suites, a dedicated premium-economy tier, and expanded lounge space concurrently, the companies appear to be positioning the combined Alaska-Hawaiian brand as a more complete premium competitor rather than pursuing piecemeal upgrades.
What Comes Next
Much of what was announced on September 29 is still years from reaching passengers. The first Aurora Suites are not expected to enter service until Alaska's 737 MAX 10s begin arriving in 2027, with the Seattle lounge complex targeted for the same general timeframe. The Hawaiian A330 retrofit carrying Leihōkū Suites, along with the Honolulu and San Diego lounges, are not expected until 2028. Until aircraft actually enter revenue service with the new cabins installed, the specifics of seat pitch, in-flight entertainment, amenities, and pricing for Premium Reserve fares remain unconfirmed beyond what the carriers have disclosed in this initial announcement.
For travelers booking Alaska or Hawaiian flights in the near term, the only change taking effect imminently is the October 1 shift of Hawaiian's Honolulu check-in to Terminal 2 and the longer baggage cutoff window — a detail worth noting for anyone flying out of Honolulu in the coming weeks, well ahead of the suites and lounges that will take until 2027 and 2028 to materialize.
Sources
- Hawaiian Airlines unveils new cabin suites, premium seats and lounges, Hawaii News Now
- Alaska Airlines swings big, announces new luxury seats and lounges, The Points Guy