Alaska Airlines just announced their next European expansion: Starting next summer (May 2027) they'll be flying nonstop from Seattle to Paris, and from Seattle to Athens. This is great news for those of us in the Pacific Northwest (and Rick Steves staff, no doubt).
Flights are "seasonal" - at least initially. If demand warrants, I can easily see them going year-round to Paris, and adding more (daily?) flights to Athens during summer season.
Both of these routes are under-served and should be popular, so I expect Alaska will do well with these. While there are a few daily flights from both SEA and YVR (and other west coast hubs) to Paris (Delta/Air France), there's plenty of demand.
There are no flights to Athens from anywhere in western North America - the closest cities with nonstops to Greece are Dallas and Chicago. Getting from Seattle to Greece has been a long, complicated slog (getting back in just one day is even worse - I can attest to that, I'm flying to Greece next month via Helsinki, and flying home via Tbilisi and Istanbul...), so this is going to be a welcome addition for many of us.
Flights will be on Alaska's swanky new 787 with the fluffy business class seats up front, and I believe flights are already for sale. Looks like a great way to get to/from Greece and Paris. I love seeing Alaska's international expansion - and more is coming. Woot! 👍