‘We’re on schedule,’ says developer of Paine Field air terminal

EVERETT — From outside the Paine Field office of Propeller Airports, you can see the steel girders that will form the walls and roof of the new passenger terminal.

You can hear the growl of metal-cutting saws. You can see and hear construction workers atop what will be the terminal entrance holler down to co-workers on the ground.

“Next week, the glass and the Sheetrock goes in,” said Brett Smith, CEO of Propeller Airports, the developer of the terminal.

“We’re on schedule,” he said.

Smith gave a tour Thursday of the site to show the progress. It’s a hub of activity. Propeller is preparing to take possession of the building in July to begin work on the interior, which will include a “local, Seattle-area restaurant” and a coffee bar, Smith said.

The for-profit company is investing about $40 million to build the two-gate terminal. By comparison, Sea-Tac Airport, has 80 gates.

Alaska Airlines, United Airlines and Southwest Airlines together are expected to offer up to 24 daily departures from Everett. Propeller expects up to 1,700 passenger boardings per day, Smith said.

You won’t find the airport’s three-letter code, PAE, on any airline website yet, but Smith promised that “the airlines will be ready to go in September.”

The terminal will have a hotel-like waiting area with a fireplace, plush seating and free high-speed internet. Smith expects it to serve about 700,000 people a year.

The passenger terminal will feature a bronze statue of 2nd Lt. Topliff Olin Paine, an airmail and Army Air Corps pilot for whom the airport is named. The sculpture is being created by Dillon Works, a Mukilteo fabrication company, Smith said.

Three years ago, Propeller secured a 50-year agreement with Snohomish County to build and operate the nearly 30,000 square-foot terminal.

Janice Podsada: jpodsada @heraldnet.com; 425-339-3097.