EVERETT — Getting across the state from Everett will be a lot easier starting in November, when Alaska Airlines begins daily nonstop service to Spokane.
Spokane will be Alaska’s 10th destination from the new two-gate passenger terminal at Paine Field.
“When it comes to flights at Paine Field, our guests have been eager for one city to be added above all others right now — they said Spokane,” said David Besse, Alaska’s manager of network planning. “We believe this route will be very popular.”
Flights from Everett to Spokane are to begin Nov. 4. Flights from Spokane International Airport to Paine Field start the next day.
Tickets are now available. One-way fares from Everett to Spokane will start as low as $44, said Alaska Airlines spokesman Ray Lane.
The once-daily departure from Everett is scheduled for 7:55 p.m. The Spokane flight is set for 7:40 a.m. Travel time is around one hour and 15 minutes. The trip by car can take 4½ to 5 hours.
To accommodate the new Spokane schedule, Alaska will reduce the number of daily departures to Los Angeles, Lane said.
“Come Nov. 5, we’ll have the two daily round trips to and from Los Angeles,” he said.
Alaska also launches round-trip service to Palm Springs, California, on Nov. 5. And a second round trip between Everett and Phoenix begins Aug. 26.
Combined, Alaska and United Airlines are capped by the Federal Aviation Administration at 24 departures and 24 arrivals per day at Paine Field. Alaska has 18 departures and United has six.
Alaska’s current Everett destinations are Las Vegas, Los Angeles, Orange County, Phoenix, Portland, San Diego, San Francisco and San Jose. United serves its hubs in San Francisco and Denver.
Alaska was the first airline to operate out of the terminal, which was built and is managed by privately held Propeller Airports under a lease agreement with the airport owner, Snohomish County.
As of late July, more than 292,000 passengers have flown to or from Paine Field on Alaska, the company said.
Andrew Harrison, an Alaska executive vice president and the chief commercial officer, said the company is “impressed and excited” with how service at Paine Field has gone. Harrison made the remarks during a second-quarter earnings call on July 25. Demand for service, which launched March 4, “has been very, very good,” Harrison said.
Except for a “little too much capacity” on flights between Paine Field and Portland, Harrison said last month, “on the whole, all of these markets are well into our average load factors now and the yield is working its way up.”
Schedule changes are not unusual, Lane said. “We’ve only been flying out of Paine Field in Everett for five months. We’ve taken a close look at what’s working well and what needs some tweaking, and we’re making those adjustments. And we’re listening to what our guests would like to see, such as a flight between Everett and Spokane.”
Janice Podsada; jpodsada@heraldnet.com; 425-339-3097; Twitter: JanicePods
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