JetSuiteX to fly between Oakland and Seattle-Boeing Field New flights to Seattle's close-in Boeing Field saves precious travel time

JetSuiteX will fly Embraer 135 jets between Oakland and Seattle's Boeing Field JetSuiteX will fly Embraer 135 jets between Oakland and Seattle's Boeing Field Photo: Chris McGinnis Photo: Chris McGinnis Image 1 of / 18 Caption Close JetSuiteX to fly between Oakland and Seattle-Boeing Field 1 / 18 Back to Gallery

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JetSuiteX, the company offering almost-private flights on the U.S. West Coast, will fly between Oakland and Seattle's Boeing Field/ King County Airport staring on July 1, the company has announced.

Flights will operate three times a day, with the exception of Saturday, when there will only be two flights a day on the new route. Boeing Field (BFI) is JetSuiteX's first destination in the Pacific Northwest, according to the company.

Boeing Field is located just 5.5 miles south of downtown Seattle and is a easy 15-minute car ride (depending on Interstate 5 traffic) to city center. The airport is owned by King County.

The cheapest JetSuiteX fares are are now $99 each way between OAK and Seattle with taxes and fees included. (Check JetSuiteX fares and schedules here.)

That might be a tough sell in the highly competitive Bay Area-to-Seattle market, which as of this week is seeing fares for mid-May trips from SFO or SJC for just $117 roundtrip. (See those fares here.) Oakland-SEA fares are running as low as $137 roundtrip. Note: Fares subject to change.

A lot of Boeing's aircraft finishing work on soon-to-be-delivered jets happens at BFI, so it's common to see brand new airplanes parked at the airport waiting for new owners to pick them up-- hence the name Boeing Field. The airport also hosts many private jets given its close proximity to downtown.

By comparison, Seattle-Tacoma International Airport is located 14 miles south of downtown, and it typically takes at least 30 minutes to get to Sea-Tac by car, 40 mins by light rail. The airport is one of America's fastest growing, which means it is becoming increasingly congested.

Alaska and United Airlines recently initiated service between San Francisco SFO and less- crowded Paine Field, located 24 miles north of Seattle.

Photo: Google Maps Boeing Field (BFI) is about five miles south of downtown Seattle

For time-sensitive travelers from San Francisco who like to land and get straight to the city, these new JetSuiteX flights to BFI are arguably worth crossing the bridge to Oakland for.

JetSuiteX regulars have lauded the ease of flying into and out of private terminals at smaller airports. There are hardly any queues to contend with, and fliers can expect to be onboard without having to arrive early to navigate crowded curbsides or long lines at TSA screening.

"With this new route, JetSuiteX is targeting a mix of business and leisure travelers, as both regions are important technology hubs as well as major tourist destinations," Company co-founder and CEO Alex Wilcox explained over e-mail. "Our customers save up to one hour each time they fly by avoiding the hassles of major airports."

JetSuiteX has earned many fans by operating out of private airport terminals on a fleet of Embraer ERJ-135 jets that are equipped with 30 extra legroom seats each with 36-inches of seat pitch. See the slideshow at the top of this post for a look inside JetSuiteX planes.

That's compared to 31-32-inches you'd find in coach seat on a commercial airline. Included in fares are three pieces of checked luggage, and free snacks and drinks.

Some disappointed JetSuiteX fliers have told us they've recently encountered older ERJ-135 jets that have not yet been renovated. Those jets still had the previous owner's airline interiors and old seats that didn't come with extra legroom.

"Those two aircraft are now in the process of being refurbished and will be entering our fleet again soon with the fully upgraded interiors," Wilcox explained. Jets operating on the Oakland-Seattle route will have the private jet style updated interiors.

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The carrier specializes in short-haul west coast flying with many routes focused on the Bay to Basin market. From the Bay Area, it operates flights out of Oakland Airport and Concord's Buchanan Field to Burbank, Orange County, and Las Vegas.

The Bay Area to Seattle market is packed: At Oakland, JetSuiteX will be going up against commercial carriers Southwest Airlines and Alaska Airlines on the Oakland-Seattle route. This summer, Southwest is operating seven flights each way between the two cities. Alaska will operate four daily roundtrips.

In addition to Oakland-Seattle, Alaska runs a whopping 12 flights per day from SFO to SEA. United flies up there eight times per day, and Delta has seven flights per day. From San Jose, Alaska flies the route eight times per day in each direction. Delta flies from SJC to SEA five times.

Have you flown JetSuiteX before? Will you give it a try up to Seattle? Please leave your thoughts in the comments!

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Chris McGinnis is the founder of TravelSkills.com. The author is solely responsible for the content above, and it is used here by permission. You can reach Chris at chris@travelskills.com or on Twitter @cjmcginnis.