Alaska Airlines will spread its wings by flying to Tokyo and Seoul beginning next year

NEW YORK (AP) — Alaska Airlines said Tuesday it will start new service to Tokyo and Seoul next year as part of a plan to boost international flights over the next several years.

Alaska announced the new routes Tuesday as it raised its fourth-quarter outlook and publicized a plan to boost profit by $1 billion over three years.

It said greater efficiency from combining with Hawaiian Airlines will save the company at least $500 million by 2027. Alaska also plans to introduce a new premium co-branded credit card; similar deals have been lucrative for other carriers.

Alaska also announced a plan to spend $1 billion buying back its own stock, which makes investors’ existing shares more valuable.

Shares of Seattle-based Alaska Air Group jumped 14% in midday trading.

The airline said Tuesday that it will begin flying between Seattle and Tokyo’s Narita International Airport in May, and add service between Seattle and Seoul in October.

Alaska said it plans to fly from Seattle to at least a dozen international destinations by 2030, using large jets owned by Hawaiian, which Alaska bought this year for $1 billion plus assumed debt.

The airline said it expects to earn 40 to 50 cents per share in the fourth quarter, up from an earlier forecast of 20 to 40 cents per share, because of stronger-than-expected bookings in November and December. That outlook followed similar upgrades last week by Southwest Airlines and American Airlines, which reported strong demand for leisure travel.

A banner for Alaska Air Group hangs on the front of the New York Stock Exchange in New York's Financial District on Tuesday, Dec. 10, 2024. (AP Photo/Peter Morgan, File)

FILE - Alaska Airlines aircraft sits in the airline's hangar at Seattle-Tacoma International Airport, Jan. 10, 2024, in SeaTac, Wash. (AP Photo/Lindsey Wasson, File)

WASHINGTON (AP) — President Donald Trump’s motorcade took a different route than usual to the airport as he was departing Florida on Sunday due to a “suspicious object,” according to the White House.

The object, which the White House did not describe, was discovered during security sweeps in advance of Trump’s arrival at Palm Beach International Airport.

“A further investigation was warranted and the presidential motorcade route was adjusted accordingly,” White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt said in a statement Sunday.

The president, when asked about the package by reporters, said, “I know nothing about it.”

Trump left his Palm Beach, Florida, club, Mar-a-Lago, around 6:20 p.m. for the roughly 10-minute drive to the airport, but took a circular route around the city to get there.

During the drive, police officers on motorcycles created a moving blockade for the motorcade, at one point almost colliding with the vans that accompanied Trump.

Air Force One was parked on the opposite side of the airport from where it is usually located and the lights outside the plane were turned off.

Anthony Guglielmi, the spokesman for U.S. Secret Service, said the secondary route was taken just as a precaution and that “that is standard protocol.”

President Donald Trump departs Trump International Golf Club in the presidential limousine, known as The Beast, Sunday, Jan. 11, 2026, in West Palm Beach, Fla. (AP Photo/Julia Demaree Nikhinson)