New flying out of Paine Field will ease commuting pain for many
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UPDATE 1/22/19: We’re postponing our scheduled start of service from Paine Field until March 4, 2019. Our latest post has all the details.
ORIGINAL POST 5/17/17: For most Seattle-area guests of Alaska Airlines, getting to the airport is relatively painless. But for the more than one million residents of northern King County, Snohomish County and surrounding communities, the extra distance and city congestion mean the drive can be longer than the flight itself.
That all changes by fall 2018, when Alaska begins regularly scheduled commercial flights from Snohomish County Airport, Paine Field.
George Tsoukalas is a Snohomish County resident who flies an average of 1.5 times each week. The Alaska MVP Gold and Million Miler says he is thrilled by the prospect of flying out of Paine Field.
“Personally, I’ve been looking forward to this,” he says. “It’s not just the traffic driving through Seattle, but the inconsistency of it. Some days it might take me 40 minutes to drive to the airport, other days it takes 70 minutes.”
Tsoukalas has even resorted to driving 65 minutes to Bellingham to catch flights. Though it’s a longer drive than it would be to Sea-Tac in good traffic conditions, the drive time is more consistent.
“Flying from Paine Field will allow me to schedule my time more efficiently,” he says. “As a business traveler, that makes a big difference.”
Paine Field is home to the Boeing Everett Factory, along with a major aviation maintenance facility and several flight schools, but the airport, originally constructed in 1936, does not currently host commercial flying. Subject to receipt of government approvals, Alaska plans to operate nine daily flights by fall 2018, using a mixture of Boeing 737 and Embraer 175 jets.
“We’re not quite ready to share details of the routes,” says John Kirby, Alaska’s vice president of capacity planning. “But I can tell you they won’t be limited to short, regional flights. We’re talking daily, nonstop flights to some of our most popular destinations.”
The new flying is expected to take hundreds of cars off the road each day, cutting greenhouse emissions while adding convenience for Alaska’s many guests living north of Seattle. Everett residents, for example, could reduce their airport commutes by up to 80 minutes during peak traffic congestion.
Groundbreaking on the new terminal is expected in early June, with full details of Alaska’s routes as well as ticket sale information to be announced in early 2018.
Comments
Hey Alaska get a clue from Alegiant’s notice in USA Today that it will start flying from Bellingham to Anchorage in May 2019! There are hundreds of thousands in Alaska and Northwest (and even Eastern) Washington wanting to fly to and from Anchorage and avoid Seatac but all your current flights out of Everett/Paine are going the wrong way! Add competative 737 flights from there to Anchorage (Juneau and Fairbanks too) and you won’t lose this market. Don’t and you will as time wise from Lynnwood/Everett to Bellingham is no further than Seatac and there is little chance a traffic jam will cause a missed flight plus don’t forget Vancouver BC flys to Alaska too
Hello! Please include Medford, OREGON! You’re missing a great opportunity here!
I hope you consider flying to spokane,wa
PHX PLEASE! There are a lot of us here in the NW that have second homes in AZ and fly there at least 1/month. Thanks for considering.
How about a flight to Charleston, SC since Boeing is there and in Everett! Makes it convenient. Also, I am an Alaska resident so please offer flights from Anchorage and/or Fairbanks!
Please offer flights for Charleston, SC. I fly home twice a year.
Would love to see flights to Atlanta, GA as well!
We are excited. We also live in the flight path and are very proud of love of jet noise !! It is the sound of Boeings mark in the air industry, and the military is the sound of freedom. The airport was here long before us and we owe so much of our economy and lifestyle to the effects it has on our neighborhood. We could not be happier to welcome Alaska Airlines flights and the economic boon and the availability it will bring to our back yard. Julie and Karl Myers
Hoping for flights to Boise.
Hoe do you sign up for Inaugural flight ? As a Million Mile Flyer I would love to be part of this !
Would LOVE flights to
-Burbank, CA
-Las Vegas
– New York
Went to Seattle airport on Monday. Took me almost 2 hours to get home :/
Please fly to SAN!!! Getting through Seatttle trafffic is a pain!
Traffic in Seattle is so bad…maybe a flight from Paine Field to SeaTac is in order!!
I would like to see nonstop to providence,R.I.
Las Vegas!!! And JFK or LaGuardia.. but not Newark.
I hope there will be a flight from Everett to Missoula, Montana that would.be great!
This may ease commuting for some BUT how about the people who live in the area. WE ARE EXTREMELY UNHAPPY THIS IS HAPPENING. Try living around Paine Field and listening to the constant noise and driving in the area with all the disruption. Those of you who like this get to go home!! This is my home and should NEVER have passed!!! 🙁
Hate hate hate. …
Yup. Used to live within walking distance of Boeing/Paine Field but I moved a few miles north when I found out this was happening. I am excited to fly out of Everett now tho’.
No offense Jayne but you knew there was an airport there when you moved in. Unless you moved in 80 years ago in which case my condolences about your disruptive new neighbor.
Not happy with the new terminal ?Move???? Welcome to progress Alaska!! Love to flye !
I really like this news i all the time take me 3 hours mostly with an traffic to get at seatac airport and i like it this way but i can tell you gus that i need if you can do this direct flights to guadalajara mexico is a really news for me and i love more if there non stop
When Aloha started flying 737s to the west coast we looked very seriously at Paine Field. We finally gave up the idea because there was no terminal at the time and no other commercial flights to support us. However, the demographics of the population that lives to the north of Seattle said there are a lot of frequent flyers who might find a drive to Paine Field much more desirable than the slog through town to SEATAC.
I would!!
This is wonderful news and has made my day! No more long slogs from Whidbey to SeaTac. Please fly to PHX, HNL, LAX, Bay Area, BOS!
LOVE ALASKA!!
I’d love to see non stop flights into Burbank, California too!
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