• Northern Pacific Airways is a new low-cost airline looking to connect the US and Asia through Alaska.
  • Asian destinations as far as Tokyo, Japan and Seoul, South Korea are planned for a 2022 launch.
  • Travelers will be encouraged to spend a day or two in Alaska on their way to or from Asia.

Northern Pacific Airways is launching on Sunday with a low-cost business model centered around connecting North America and Asia through Anchorage. It's a tried-and-true strategy pioneered by geographically advantaged airlines such as Copa Airlines and Icelandair.
Rob McKinney, the chief executive officer of Northern Pacific and sister airline Ravn Alaska, thinks Northern Pacific can use Alaska's strategic location to join their ranks, and that his hometown airline is prime to lead the charge.
"Alaska is a unique place that presents all kinds of challenges and people that are not familiar with [it], I think are intimidated by the unique challenges of Alaska," McKinney said. " We're from here, this is where we operate. This is our home."