Paine Field managers are surveying Snohomish County business people, trying to determine whether there is a potential market for commercial air service from the airport.
The airport launched an online survey last week, tapping into electronic mailing lists provided by five local chambers of commerce and the Snohomish County Economic Development Council.
The consultants running the survey will take responses until next Monday, airport director Dave Waggoner said. The results of the survey and a second, companion study should be available later this summer.
The goal is to “try to understand how people think about traveling,” he said. “This is really an expedition trying to seek out information.”
The airport is studying whether it’s feasible to try to recruit an airline to offer regular flights from the county-owned Everett airfield.
Local commercial air service has been debated for decades. Advocates say the lack of regular airline service hampers efforts to draw new companies to the county. Opponents say the added noise and traffic would hamper the quality of life in the Mukilteo and south Everett neighborhoods close to the airport.
The study is part of a broader economic development package being considered by the Snohomish County Council, Waggoner said. Part of that is studying whether regular scheduled air service would stimulate new business growth.
The online survey targets business people, trying to determine how willing they would be to fly from Paine Field if an airline offered service there, and whether they’d be willing to pay higher ticket prices for the convenience of not having to drive to Seattle-Tacoma International Airport.
The consultants also examined travel trends by reviewing 136,000 airline tickets purchased by people living in areas the airport would serve if an airline were based at Paine Field, Waggoner said.
Early returns show that Snohomish County residents like to fly south, Waggoner said. Some of the top destinations are Las Vegas, San Diego, Los Angeles and Phoenix.
If the results suggest there’s a market for air travel from Everett, Waggoner said the airport would move ahead with a new round of studies to figure out how much it would cost to build a terminal and provide other services an airline would need to operate at the field.
No matter the outcome of the studies, Snohomish County can’t establish commercial air service at Paine Field on its own, Waggoner said.
“You have to have an airline to offer the service, and risk their money,” he said.
Reporter Bryan Corliss: 425-339-3454 or corliss@heraldnet.com.
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