Alaska weighs – Alaska Airlines says it may pursue a joint venture connected to its American Airlines relationship, while it looks for a new partner in Latin America after ending its LATAM tie-up in October 2025.
When Alex Judson stepped onto a stage in Rio de Janeiro, the message was clear: Alaska Airlines believes the airline’s next growth step may come through deeper partnerships—and that includes the possibility of joint ventures.
Speaking at the IATA Annual General Meeting in Rio de Janeiro on 7 June. Judson. managing director of partnerships and international at Alaska. said a joint venture could be in the airline’s future because it sees partnership expansion as the logical move for a carrier that describes itself as “a global carrier.”.
“Now that we are a global carrier, it’s just the next stage of partnerships,” Judson said.
Alaska is already closely plugged into American Airlines through two lanes: it is a member of the Oneworld alliance and has a close codeshare and loyalty partnership with American. In May. Alaska’s chief executive Ben Minicucci put the direction even more bluntly. saying the airline is looking to tighten its 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,” Minicucci said in May.
That “deepen” could mean something bigger than codeshares. American has three joint businesses that could be relevant to Alaska if it joins one of the pacts. including an Europe-US operation involving British Airways. Finnair and Iberia; an Australia-US concern with Qantas Airways; and a Japan-US operation with Japan Airlines. Any Alaska membership in those joint ventures would require antitrust approval from US and other regulators.
Alaska is already putting its international ambition on display. It serves London and Rome in Europe, Sydney in Australia, and Osaka and Tokyo in Japan, according to schedule data from aviation analytics provider Cirium Diio. Honolulu and Seattle are its main intercontinental gateways.
The same pressure to expand also sits inside Alaska’s Latin America plans—one reason the airline is now searching for a new partner where it previously had a fit.
In October 2025, Alaska ended a long-standing tie-up with LATAM Airlines. Judson described the gap as longstanding, and when asked about Alaska’s Latin America plans, he answered with a short promise: “Stay tuned.”
“We’ve known it’s been a gap since we ended [the LATAM] relationship,” Judson said.
The sticking point is that many of Alaska’s remaining partners fly to Latin America, but none fly within it. Oneworld. Alaska’s alliance. also lacks a member in Latin America—while American Airlines. the largest US airline serving the region. has equity partnerships with JetSmart in Chile and Gol in Brazil.
Put together. Alaska’s leadership is effectively spelling out two connected moves: deepen the already-close relationship with American at a structural level. and fill the missing Latin America piece after the LATAM exit. The question now is whether regulators will sign off on the joint venture route—and who steps in to become Alaska’s next foothold in a region it says has been waiting.
Alaska Airlines American Airlines Oneworld joint venture IATA Annual General Meeting Rio de Janeiro LATAM Airlines Latin America partnerships JetSmart Gol antitrust approval