Alaska Airlines has new home for training excellence: State-of-the-art global training center

Thousands of Alaska Airlines and Hawaiian Airlines employees now have a new 660,000-square-foot, state-of-the-art training facility.

The facility — which only recently officially opened its doors — will be a hub for flight attendants, pilots, customer service agents and others, centralizing operations under one roof.

Investing in training capacity and quality adds fuel to the Alaska Accelerate strategic plan — the vision for the combination between Alaska Airlines and Hawaiian Airlines.

“The global training center is spectacular and worthy of our amazing frontline employees,” said Alaska Air Group Chief Operating Officer Jason Berry. “This is the first time in our nearly 95-year history that employees across frontline workgroups will train under the same roof.”

Alaska Airlines, Hawaiian Airlines and Horizon Air are subsidiaries of Alaska Air Group, and McGee Air Services is a subsidiary of Alaska Airlines, which is now the country’s fourth global airline with hubs in Seattle; Honolulu; Portland, Ore.; Anchorage, Alaska; Los Angeles; San Diego, Calif.; and San Francisco.

Frontline employees are at the core of Alaska’s transformation as the network expands globally and the premium guest experience is scaled.

This facility — located in Renton, Wash. — is an investment back into the dedicated employees who care for Alaska and Hawaiian guests every day.

“I’m looking forward to this space being used by thousands of employees to build on our culture of safety, performance and care,” Berry said.

Expanded technology and capacity

In addition to the already rigorous training regimen Alaska employees undergo, the new global training center includes new technologies:

• Five mock bays used by flight attendants to train for emergency aircraft scenarios.
• Fully functional aircraft galley to train flight attendants on service procedures.
• Mock lobby and gate area for customer service agents, as well as four aircraft door trainers to practice normal, abnormal and emergency procedures.
• Virtual reality rooms and equipment, a new 787 full-motion flight simulator and nine 737 full-motion simulators for pilot training.

Design and amenities

The facility’s design takes inspiration from the Pacific Northwest’s natural beauty, with wood elements and a paint scheme representing mountains, oceans and forest canopy.

The remodel also reused a significant number of existing materials, limiting landfill waste.

Offering an environment where employees can learn from one another, socialize and care for their well-being, the facility offers a number of amenities such as a cafeteria, café and bar designed to be like Alaska’s famous Lounges.

It also offers an auditorium for class graduations and events, a fitness center, bike storage and repair room and a 1-mile walking trail.

The training center — a building formerly owned by Boeing — is about 5 miles away from the headquarters of Alaska Airlines and was purposely built to house an aviation training facility.

Alaska Airlines purchased the property in 2024 from Unico Properties and has invested more than $200 million into the facility.

Training at the new center also will be augmented by existing pilot and flight attendant training facilities in Honolulu.

Global training center by the numbers

• 8 acres of land.
• 664,629 square feet throughout 3 floors.
• 10 full‑motion simulators.
• 5 inflight mock bays.
• 89 classrooms.
• 3 virtual‑reality training rooms.
• 9 break rooms.
• 34 conference rooms.
• 550 employees from 14 work groups working in the building.
• Thousands of employees cycling through for regular training.

Book travel and find additional information at the Alaska Airlines and Hawaiian Airlines websites.