Alaska Airlines to start serving a second Seattle airport!
Alaska Airlines has been undergoing quite the expansion lately, including adding flights to Dallas Love Field, San Jose, California, and now, a second Seattle airport.
Yup, you read that right! Alaska Airlines is going to start the construction of a new passenger terminal at a secondary Seattle airport. You didn’t think there was a second airport in Seattle? Well think again! Coming this time next year, Alaska Airlines is looking to start flying from Paine Field in Everett just a few dozen miles north of Seattle.
from AlaskaAir.com
One of the gripes of people who live north of Seattle is getting to the airport using the only highway available, I-5. It’s always congested and during wet weather it slows down to 1/2 speed, while people forget how the hell to drive.
There’s no word yet on what destinations Alaska will serve, but the goal is to have nine. According to Alaska Airlines, it won’t be just destinations like San Francisco or Portland, but the goal is to also offer longer flights as well. Perhaps a New York flight?
Plans are to construct a 29,000 sq ft terminal from scratch with two gates. I suppose with 9 flights a day, you really don’t need more than 2 gates, do ya? This construction came under a lot of controversy from local residents who thought that commercial service would disrupt their way of life and create noise and problems. Paine Field in Everett is currently home to a Boeing factory, spitting out 767, 777, 787, and the mighty 747 aircraft. Local residents are used to hearing those massive wide body aircraft taking off and landing every day, so I don’t see how 9 flights a day extra would make a difference.
Alaska Airlines 737-900
For people living north of Seattle, commuting down to the Sea Tac airport can take up to an hour and a half, especially during peak traffic periods. By offering these flights out of Paine Field (PAE), it allows for tons of cars to get off the road, less headaches and stress, and I hope, some more competitive pricing into and out of Seattle. After all, if there are better flights out of Everett, perhaps it’ll free up more seats out of Seattle, reducing the cost?
It’s an Overall Positive
At the end of the day, I find Alaska offering more flights to more destinations with more options a good thing. For people flying into the region this would be an awesome way to head south into the city, and for people living in the city, sometimes it’s easier heading north. While Bellingham has Alaska flights, they are limited to Portland, Seattle, and Hawaii (with occasional service to Las Vegas) so if the plan truly is to have 9 new destinations with both 737 and E175 aircraft, count me in!
Would you fly in/out of Paine Field?
May 18, 2017
This is actually great news for Canadians living in BC