Alaska eyes joint ventures, Latin America partnerships

A joint venture may be in Alaska Airlines’ future, as the Seattle carrier sees such a partnership as a logical step toward further expanding its international presence.

“Now that we are a global carrier, this is the next phase of the partnership,” Alex Judson, Alaska’s managing director of partnerships and international, said at IATA’s annual general meeting in Rio de Janeiro on June 7.

Alaska is a member of the Oneworld alliance and a close codeshare and loyalty partner of American Airlines.

The carrier’s chief executive Ben Minicucci said in May that the airline was considering a closer relationship with American.

“We’re going to deepen our relationship (with American) and make sure Alaska is as successful as we can be as we launch global flights,” he said.

American has three joint ventures that could attract Alaska as a potential member. These include Europe-America business with British Airways, Finnair and Iberia; Australia-US concerns with Qantas Airways; and Japan-US operations with Japan Airlines. Membership in any agreement would require antitrust approval from US and other regulators.

Schedule data from aviation analytics provider Cirium Diio shows Alaska serves London and Rome in Europe, Sydney in Australia and Osaka and Tokyo in Japan. Honolulu and Seattle are the carrier’s main intercontinental gateways.

As Alaska considers joint-venture membership, it is also looking for a new Latin American partner. The airline ended its long-standing partnership with LATAM Airlines in October 2025, and while several of its remaining partners fly to the region, none fly within it.

“Stay tuned,” Judson says when asked about Alaska’s Latin America plans. “Since we ended the (LATAM) relationship we know there is a gap”.

Oneworld lacks a member in Latin America, but American, the region’s largest U.S. airline, has equity partnerships with JetSmart in Chile and Gol in Brazil.