Alaska Airlines fails to get slots at London Heathrow
The airline could still lease or buy slots from other operators.
An initial coordination report indicated that Alaska Airlines, which plans to launch flights to London Heathrow Airport (LHR) in 2026, has failed to obtain slots at one of the most slot-constrained airports in the world, leaving the airline with potentially expensive options to get the rights to land at LHR.
Airport Coordination Limited (ACL), a United Kingdom-based independent slot coordinator that manages airports throughout the world, including LHR, published its initial coordination report for the airport’s summer 2026 season.
The report showed that out of the total 314,042 demanded slots, it had allocated 290,676, or 92.6% of the total demand, clearing 265,304 slots, or 91.3% of the total allocation, for the summer 2026 season, which will begin on March 29, 2026.
Unfortunately for Alaska Airlines, it was one of the many airlines that had failed to obtain new slots at the airport. The United States-based carrier had requested 312 movements, none of which were granted.
Other US airlines that failed to get new or more slots include Delta Air Lines (540 requested) and JetBlue (421 requested, one obtained), while Riyadh Air, which had gotten itself 14 slots per week for daily arrivals and departures at LHR from British Airways, also failed to get any new slots from the coordinator.
Does this mean that Alaska Airlines will abandon its plans to launch services from Seattle-Tacoma International Airport (SEA) to LHR? No, not necessarily.
When the airline announced that its SEA to Rome Fiumicino Airport (FCO) flights are now on sale on November 13, it said that soon, it will begin ticket sales for its “new daily, year-round service between Seattle and London Heathrow, which also starts flying next spring.”
Alaska Airlines still could obtain slots at the airport by leasing or buying them from other operators. The fact that oneworld alliance members, an alliance that Alaska Airlines is a part of, have a major presence at the airport could also help the airline get its hands on slots to fly SEA-LHR.
Especially if Alaska Airlines were to join the transatlantic joint venture that includes Aer Lingus, American Airlines, British Airways, Finnair, and Iberia. For example, Cirium’s Diio Mi showed that in June 2026, British Airways has scheduled double-daily departures from SEA to LHR.
The British carrier could hand over one daily departure to Alaska Airlines, which would keep the same level of connectivity for its customers and oneworld, and at the same time, allow British Airways to add a daily flight elsewhere, if it desires to do so.
Alaska Airlines lists British Airways as one of its codeshare partners, which enables the former’s passengers to earn points and get status benefits on the latter’s flights.
When the airline announced its services to LHR, it said that its expansion into the market was “facilitated by strengthened collaborations with American Airlines and British Airways, presents significant opportunities.” (h/t Cranky Flier.)
Still, this is somewhat speculative, and Alaska Airlines could work with other airlines that have slots at the airport and are looking to reduce their services from/to LHR during the upcoming summer 2026 season.
Iran Air, for example, lost 180 of its historic slots, ACL’s report showed, becoming the only airline to lose historic slots that allow airlines to carry over their services over seasons during the summer 2026 season.
Overall, flight movements are scheduled to grow by 0.1% compared to the initial coordination for the summer 2025 season, with seats growing by 1.4%. The average seats per flight is also scheduled to be 228, an increase of 1.4% compared to the summer 2025 season’s initial slot allocation, according to ACL.
Rytis Beresnevicius
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