Alaska and Hawaiian announced new chef-designed menus and a refreshed wine list for their international premium cabins on October 15. Strip out the plating adjectives and there's one change that actually alters how you fly: Hawaiian's international Business Class is getting the same expanded pre-select meal options Alaska guests already have, starting around the week of October 19.

What actually changed

The announcement bundles several things together, so let's separate them. Alaska's Seattle-based chef Brady Ishiwata Williams has new Suites dishes on the Asia routes: miso glazed black cod on Seattle-Tokyo Narita and galbi-glazed chicken on Seattle-Seoul Incheon, both available to pre-order now. Renee Erickson is slated to design seasonal Suites menus for Seattle-London, plus Athens and Paris when those routes launch in May 2027. On the Hawaiian side, Dell Valdez's refreshed international Suites menu (think ahi au poivre and huli huli chicken) starts October 21, and Keaka Lee takes over First Class departing Hawai'i the same day with loco moco for breakfast.

The part that matters: pre-ordering

Suites guests can pre-order from up to five entree options on eligible domestic and international flights, through the Alaska and Hawaiian app. Pre-orders open two weeks before departure and close 20 hours before. And Hawaiian's international Business Class gets the same expanded pre-select options Alaska guests already enjoy. If you've been burned by the 'sorry, we're out of that' announcement at row 3, pre-order is the actual product improvement here. Chef names do not guarantee the dish is still on the cart.

The wine list

International Business Class gets a refreshed premium wine selection this fall, paired to each menu. The only named examples are a Paul Hobbs West Sonoma Coast Pinot Noir and a Vina Cobos Cocodrilo red blend from Argentina. Alaska's own earlier summer release named entirely different bottles, so this is a rotating list, not a permanent promise. Treat any specific wine as a maybe.

What's missing

The release never says what the old menus looked like, so 'new' and 'refreshed' are doing a lot of work. It also uses 'Suites' and 'Business Class' for the international cabin somewhat interchangeably, which is confusing when you're deciding what a ticket or award actually buys. Nothing here changes award pricing, status benefits, or routes. If you already fly these cabins, enjoy the better odds of getting the entree you want. If you don't, this is not a reason to rebook.

Confirmed directly on Alaska Airlines' own newsroom announcement, published October 15, 2026.