Alaska Airlines opens new training center in Renton

Alaska Airlines’ new “state-of-the-art” training center is now open in Renton.

The 660,000-square-foot Global Training Center will host thousands of Alaska Airlines and Hawaiian Airlines employees learning to be flight attendants, pilots, customer service agents and more. The facility is located on a 19-acre property known as Longacres, at 1901 Oakesdale Ave. SW. It was purchased in 2025 for $85.75 million.

The SeaTac-based Alaska Airlines invested more than $200 million in the facility and will continue the company’s vision of combining Alaska Airlines and Hawaiian Airlines.

“Frontline employees are at the core of Alaska’s transformation as the network expands globally and the premium guest experience is scaled,” according to an announcement from the company. “This facility is an investment back into the thousands of employees who care for Alaska and Hawaiian guests every day.”

The training center will offer several new technologies for training employees such as five mock bays for training flight attendants on emergency aircraft scenarios and a fully functional aircraft galley to train them on service procedures. The center also includes a mock lobby and gate area, as well as four aircraft door trainers, for customer service agents to practice normal, abnormal and emergency procedures. For pilots, there are virtual reality rooms and equipment, including a new 787 full-motion flight simulator and nine 737 full-motion simulators.

The replica aircraft cabins allow flight attendants to practice dealing with emergency aircraft scenarios. Photo provided by Alaska Airlines

The facility also meets the needs and well-being of the employees who use the facility with a cafeteria, café and bar, auditorium for class graduations and events, a fitness center, bike storage and repair room, and a one-mile walking trail.

“The Global Training Center is spectacular and worthy of our amazing frontline employees,” Alaska Airlines Chief Operating Officer Jason Berry said. “This is the first time in our nearly 95-year history that employees across frontline workgroups will train under the same roof. I’m looking forward to this space being used by thousands of employees to build on our culture of safety, performance and care.”

The Pacific Northwest’s natural beauty inspired the facility’s design with wood elements and a paint scheme representing mountains, oceans and forest canopy, while reusing a “significant number” of existing materials to limit landfill waste.

Alaska Airlines said training at the new facility will be augmented by existing pilot and flight attendant training facilities in Honolulu.

The property is a part of a 150-acre site called Longacres, which was a horse racetrack before being bought by Boeing and later real estate firm Unico Properties. The campus has close office space, a daycare facility and the Seattle Sounders training fields alongside the new training facility.

“Alaska Airlines is one of the critical employers in the Northwest, with over 30,000 employees, and we’re honored to have Renton be the primary training destination for their staff,” Renton Mayor Armondo Pavone said. “We’ve seen the Seattle Sounders headquarters take up residence at the redeveloped Longacres site, and along with the Alaska Airlines training facility, we look forward to the addition of more major employers, housing, retail and entertainment to the neighborhood.”

Future plans for the site include a music venue, 67,000 square feet of retail space, 2,200 residential units and a 125-room hotel. Alaska Airlines formerly said the Longacres campus is planned to be a vibrant, diversified, mixed-use campus that includes an arts and entertainment district, trails, ponds, scenic wetlands, and direct access to the Renton and Tukwila Sound Transit stations.

“Renton is a bright spot in the region and we’re excited to build upon these announcements to bring other beloved Northwest brands to our exciting new community,” Unico Properties Director and Market Leader Liz Thorson said at the time of the center’s announcement. “We’re pleased to have secured in excess of 670,000 square feet of occupancy since acquiring the property in a difficult office environment throughout the country.”