Alaska Airlines on Thursday announced a proposed schedule of flights when commercial plane service comes to Everett’s Paine Field, our online news partner The Seattle Times reported.
In December, the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) approved commercial passenger flights out of the general-aviation airport. It’s unclear how soon flights could take off since an organized community group — Save Our Communities — has long opposed passenger flights at Paine Field; a passenger terminal also has to be built, The Times said. Alaska Airlines said it has told the FAA that it could have 28 round-trip flights per week leaving from the Everett airport.
Alaska is proposing, in the first year, 14 weekly round-trip flights to Las Vegas, Honolulu and Maui, Hawaii, using Boeing 737-800 jet aircraft. Alaska would also fly 21 weekly round-trip flights to Portland with Bombardier Q400 turboprop aircraft. Not all destinations would be served daily.
You can read the complete Alaska Airlines news release here.
Very disappointed to hear this from Alaska Airlines. As an Alaska MVP Gold frequent flyer for many years I will very seriously look a hard look at this airline for future travel. So it begins. They polled over five years ago asking fliers if we would use Horizon flights at Paine and I said no.
Boeing is test flying jets out of paine field all the time I don;t hear anybody complaining about that. I don’t really think its going to be an issue if you live in Edmonds I live up by meadodale jr high school I think its kind of neat to see the planes go by and just think you only have to go to paine field and can go to hawaii I like that
OH ya I hope they have flights to sun valley also because Ill be going to Paine field all the time then
For those of us living way north of SeaTac, having this service for these destinations, is great. In particular, business trips to Portland now are more convenient and less tiresome.
I am all for the flights out of Paine Field. Living very close to Meadowdale High School I rarely hear the planes when they fly over and it will be great to be able to get on a plane right here and not have to drive through the Big S.
I agree with Micheal and Jim. I am in favor of flights from Paine Field. The trips from Edmonds to SeaTac are a nightmare. We have Boeing test planes flying low over our house; much lower than commercial planes fly. And the planes that go to the San Juans during the summer time are a continual stream.
Having grown up directly under the flight path of Spokane’s Fairchild AFB with B36s and B52s scrambling night and day, Paine field’s airliners don’t bother me a bit. And a 10-minute drive vs. the mess getting to SeaTac would trump any traffic Horizon or Alaska might present.
I am definitely looking to fly out of Paine Field instead of having to fight the drive to SeaTac. It’s going to save a lot of time and money for travelers in the north end. If you’re going to travel anyway, your carbon footprint will be reduced by not having to drive to SeaTac.
Flights out of Paine are fine but the coal trains must be stopped?
Plastic bags need banning but commercial air traffic and all the intrusions it brings over our fine city are OK for the benefit of the few?
I traveled my entire career and never found the 30 minutes to Sea-Tac a problem. Mainly because I would return to the tranquility of my home in Edmonds.
If you want air traffic over your home for the convenience I suggest you trade property with many in Burien who would love to make that trade for a quiet home in Edmonds.
Thanks Tom, it is nice to see comments move beyond “self” and look at the big picture for all.
I do not travel for business nor do I regularly fly. My comment was not for “the few” or nor was it for “self” as indicated by Tom and Mike. I was looking at the flight situation for the big picture as Mike points out. My comment regarding the traffic being a nightmare has to do with the traffic congestion. The fewer cars that go through the Seattle corridor help many people. My apologies for sounding self-centered. I believe that the flights out of Paine Field are more beneficial in multiple ways and it has nothing to do with me personally. I have flown three times in the last fifteen years. Obviously I am not a frequent flyer.
I guess folks are forgetting the ‘joy’ of a work week away, followed by hours of airport and flight time back to SeaTac, followed by waiting an hour for Shuttle Express to leave, then to be the last person dropped off 90 minutes later in lovely Edmonds. And anyone frequenting SeaTac would note also the folks from Bellingham and Anacortes and other points further north and west (across the Sound), who also have to travel to SeaTac for flights. There are thousands of other travelers, from points further away, who are involved in this issue, and are more inconvenienced than us. Any bit of help, like some flights from Paine, would be appreciated by these traveling neighbors also.
30 minutes to Sea-Tac? Perhaps if one is taking th red eye…as a frequent flier I welcome options outside of the Edmonds Seattle commute.
As a very frequent flier, I don’t like the commute to and from Sea-Tac at times. But I am willing to make it to maintain the quality of life in Edmonds we all enjoy that more commercial flights will greatly diminish.
Flights from Paine Field will certainly help reduce traffic through Seattle. When I do fly, I dread the worry that I’ll be stuck and usually end up with a LOT of extra time at the airport. The convenience of air service at Paine is exciting. I encourage everyone to support it. It’s already used for a lot of flights each day … adding more should not be a problem.