Allegiant Air, a Las Vegas-based airline that currently operates flights out of the Bellingham airport, has sent a letter to Snohomish County indicating interest in flying from Paine Field.
The airline said it would initially be interested in a route between Paine Field and Las Vegas, but could potentially expand service to other West Coast destinations such as Reno, Palm Springs, Phoenix, San Diego and San Francisco.
The airline currently serves four of these cities from Bellingham and plans to add service from the Bellingham airport to San Diego and San Francisco in June.
“Our analysis shows (Paine Field-area) demographics to be attractive, especially in light of transportation problems getting from the area north of Seattle to the existing airport at Sea-Tac,” wrote Robert Ashcroft, Allegiant Air vice president for planning, in a letter to the county. The letter was received Thursday.
Snohomish County Executive Aaron Reardon and County Councilman Brian Sullivan issued a statement today opposing the idea. Reardon said he would ask county attorneys to study the issue.
“I do not support bringing commercial air service to Paine Field,” Reardon said in the statement.
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