Fans Furious As Alaska Airlines Drops Beloved Eskimo Logo For Flights To London, Rome And Beyond

With Alaska Airlines embarking on an ambitious international expansion, it has now been revealed that the iconic Eskimo character that has adorned the tailfins of the Seattle-based carrier’s planes since the 1970s will not be admired in cities like London, Rome, Tokyo, and Seoul.

Instead, Alaska Airlines has unveiled a new ‘global’ aircraft design that retains the famous ‘Alaska’ wording in its custom typeface but which replaces the Eskimo character with sweeping lines to represent the Aurora Borealis.

The design will feature on all Boeing 787-9 Dreamliners in the combined fleet of the Alaska Airlines Group, which includes Hawaiian Airlines. That, of course, means that existing Boeing 787s in the Hawaiian Airlines livery will be repainted as part of the rebranding exercise.

The Aurora Borealis-themed aircraft form part of a big push by Alaska Airlines to crack the international long-haul market by turning its home hub of Seattle-Tacoma Airport into a global gateway for the combined airline group.

The ‘striking’ aircraft design will debut in January 2026, and by next Spring, all of the Boeing 787-9s in the fleet will have been painted with the new look livery.

“Our new 787 exterior embodies Alaska’s transition to a global airline with beauty, grace, and a nod to our heritage,” commented Andrew Harrison, the airline group’s chief commercial officer, on Tuesday.

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“As we significantly expand to new destinations around the globe, we’re eager for more and more travelers to recognize our new livery as being Alaska Airlines and appreciate the outstanding service we’ve long been known for,” Harrison added.

The similarities to the Aurora Borealis are clearly evident with the use of deep midnight blues and lush emerald greens, but Harrison says the design is also a nod to the airline’s classic liveries from the 1970s and 1980s.

Alaska Airlines could have as many as 17 Boeing 787-9 Dreamliners flying with the new livery in the next few years, connecting Seattle with a slew of long-haul destinations which were, until very recently, not remotely on the airline’s radar.

So far, Alaska has launched flights between Seattle and Tokyo using the Hawaiian Airlines brand, while a flight from Seattle to Seoul will follow in September.

From May 2026, the first transatlantic flight for Alaska Airlines from Seattle to Rome will commence, closely followed by non-stop flights to London Heathrow. By 2030, Alaska plans to have launched 12 intercontinental routes, although the exact details of all of those destinations are yet to be revealed.

Fans of the existing Alaska Airlines livery, however, have been reassured that the Eskimo character will be retained on the carrier’s fleet of Boeing 737 jets, including planes that will operate a new international flight between Seattle and Reykjavik, Iceland.

The Pualani character from the Hawaiian Airlines livery isn’t going anywhere either, and will still be retained on long-haul flights from Honolulu.

The Alaska Airlines Group’s long-haul strategy in a nutshell

Last September, Alaska Airlines completed its $1.9 billion acquisition of Hawaiian Airlines, which created the Alaska Airlines Group (AAG).

AAG plans to operate Alaska Airlines and Hawaiian Airlines as two separate brands but under a combined operating licence.

Hawaiian Airlines will focus on flights to, from, and between the islands of Hawaii. It will also have a secondary long-haul base in Honolulu, operating its Airbus A330 widebody aircraft in Hawaiian Airlines livery.

Meanwhile, Alaska Airlines is creating a new global gateway in Seattle with ambitious plans to launch 12 intercontinental routes by 2030, connecting with partners in lucrative markets like London and Rome.

Which aircraft will be painted in which livery?

With the evolution of the Alaska Airlines Group strategy, it’s a bit difficult to keep up with how the airline plans to brand the different airplanes in its fleet. In summary:

Hawaiian Airlines will keep its fleet of Airbus A330 widebody aircraft, as well as well as its single-aisle Airbus A321s and Boeing 717s. The A330 aircraft will operate out of Honolulu for long-haul flights, while the rest of the fleet will serve shorter flights to, from, and between the islands of Hawaii.

Alaska Airlines is taking the existing Boeing 787-9 Dreamliners in the Hawaiian Airlines fleet and repainting them in the new ‘global’ Aurora Borealis livery. These aircraft will be based in Seattle.

Alaska’s Boeing 737s will retain the existing Eskimo character livery, even if they are operating international flights, including a new route between Seattle and Iceland.

Aircraft operated by regional subsidiary Horizon Air will also retain the Eskimo character livery.

What about the interior of the Boeing 787-9 Dreamliners?

Hawaiian Airlines spent a lot of money and went to a lot of effort to evoke the sense of Hawaii in the interiors of its Boeing 787-9 Dreamliners when they launched just two years ago.

AAG has yet, however, to confirm whether it plans to update the interiors of these aircraft to reflect its new international brand image. This would, undoubtedly, be an expensive move, although we should learn more about AAG’s intentions in the months ahead.

What other airlines have different liveries for short-haul and long-haul flights?

I’m struggling to think of another large airline that has such radically different liveries to differentiate its short-haul fleet and its long-haul aircraft. If anyone can think of some examples, please sound off in the comments below…