Southwest is third airline to expand to Everett's Paine Field

Ben Mutzabaugh | USA TODAY

A year ago, no airline offered regular commercial passenger flights from Paine Field in Everett, Wash. By the end of the year, there will be three.

Southwest Airlines became the third carrier to announce its intention to fly from the airport, further solidifying momentum for establishing Paine Field as a “secondary” airport for the Seattle metro area.

Alaska Airlines and United Airlines have already announced their own plans to fly from Everett, where a new two-gate passenger terminal is now under construction to handle the service.

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Though Paine Field is home to Boeing’s adjacent widebody assembly line and to some general aviation flights, it has been decades since the airport last had regular commercial passenger service.

Southwest revealed its plans for Everett in an interview with The Seattle Times, telling the paper it will begin a schedule of five daily round-trip flights on Boeing 737s once the new terminal opens this fall. Southwest said it would reveal its destinations from Everett later this year. (Full report: The Seattle Times)

“We’ve wanted to grow in the Seattle metro market for quite some time. But Sea-Tac airport is constrained,” Southwest CEO Gary Kelly said to the Times. “Paine Field will be a wonderful alternative for our customers.”

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The carrier has since confirmed its plans in its quarterly earnings details.

Southwest already flies more than 40 flights a day to 15 cities from Seattle-Tacoma International, the city’s primary airport and one of the fastest growing in the United States.

Everett flights will likely have the greatest appeal to those living north of Seattle. The Sea-Tac airport sits about 15 miles south of downtown Seattle and those coming by car from north of the city must navigate the region’s frequently-clogged north-south arteries.

Paine Field, however, sits about 25 miles north of Seattle. Traffic to the airport from areas north of Seattle historically has been less-prone to congestion.

“The people of Southwest pride ourselves in removing pain points from travel and we know traffic is an unpleasant reality between the north Sound and our world-famous value and hospitality,” Kelly said in a statement to The Herald of Everett. “A new, convenient airport experience in Everett will bring us closer to tens of thousands of customers while providing a natural springboard for Southwest’s warmth and ease.”

Southwest’s new service will be in addition to Alaska Airlines’ planned schedule of 13 daily flights to eight cities and United’s planned schedule of six daily round-trip flights to two of its hubs.

The Times writes Southwest’s arrival “brings the new commercial air terminal to full capacity, with a total of 48 daily takeoffs and landings.”

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