If Paine Field is ever to host commercial flights, the small meeting room it now uses as a terminal just won’t do.
To that end, Snohomish County officials have been studying what it would take to build a real commercial air terminal. Building one that could accommodate two 70-passenger jets at once would cost the county $3.2 million, said Dave Waggoner, director of Snohomish County Airport at Paine Field.
A detailed report on what it would take to build such a terminal isn’t due out until July, but Waggoner is sharing some of the details with city councils, Rotary clubs and other civic organizations.
The decision to pursue commercial commuter flights at Paine Field lies with the County Council and County Executive Aaron Reardon. Neither Reardon nor the council has yet officially said whether they want to develop Paine Field into a commercial airport.
Still, Snohomish County is growing so fast that Waggoner predicts the county will eventually pursue commercial flights, especially if traffic continues to worsen between the county and Seattle-Tacoma International Airport.
“I think commercial service will begin at Paine Field within the next three to … 10 years,” he said.
Snohomish County is projected to grow from 644,800 people in 2004 to 930,000 people by 2025, an increase of 285,200 people, said Stephen Toy, a Snohomish County demographer.
That’s the same as squeezing three new Everetts into the county over the next 20 years.
Regional airlines – ones that fly 38- to 100-seat aircraft from smaller airports to larger airports – will likely come knocking when the airline industry finally recovers from the funk it’s been in since the September 2001 terrorist attacks, Waggoner said.
Exploration of commercial passenger service at Paine Field has intensified since the county adopted an economic stimulus plan in 2002 that included a list of things that could boost the economy. One of the ideas was regional air service.
A market study paid for by the county in 2004 suggested the airport could support regional air service, adding that Paine Field could capture up to 30 percent of the 7,000 Snohomish County residents who fly out of Sea-Tac every day.
The rate depends heavily on how many departures and destinations Paine Field offers, the report said.
No airline is currently pursuing establishing commercial service at the airport, Waggoner said. In addition to its being a market-based decision, federal authorities who regulate airlines also say you can’t close the door to commercial air service at airports such as Paine Field, Waggoner said.
What it could look like
The terminal study – like the market study the county commissioned last year – positions Snohomish County to be ready if an airline does pursue flights out of Paine Field, Waggoner said.
According to the study, the $3.2 million terminal would be able to serve two of the 70-passenger jets that regional airlines such as Horizon Air have moved to in recent years. Half of the money would be used to build a 13,000-square-foot modular building.
“We are going for a utilitarian structure with the amenities you need, but it certainly is not going to be top-cabin,” Waggoner said.
The building would include small offices for federal Transportation Security Administration employees to screen passengers. A security checkpoint would be built, and there would be a small waiting area for passengers.
There would be two small counters for airlines to use, two sets of bathrooms (for the secure and nonsecure parts of the terminal), and a coffee stand with drinks, muffins and possibly cold sandwiches. A bar is not in the study’s plans.
The baggage area would consist of a garage-doorlike wall that airline employees could open and slide bags down to their owners on a small metal slide – no churning turnstiles here.
The rest of the money would be spent on parking, fencing and other exterior costs.
To save money, no passenger loading bridges are planned. Passengers would use stairways to get on and off jets directly onto the tarmac.
Neighbors worried
Continuing to spend money on looking at what it would take to bring commercial air service to Paine Field doesn’t sit well with people who live near the airport. They say they are living under the promise that the airport would never be converted into a facility that allows commercial service.
An agreement approved by the county in 1978 spells out how Paine Field can be used, specifically encouraging air taxi and commuter service while strongly discouraging expanding supplemental and charter air passenger service.
Recognizing that there is a large difference in opinion over what “supplemental and charter” passenger service means, Reardon in May created a commission to review the 1978 mediated agreement. The commission is headed by Mukilteo Mayor Don Doran and Everett Mayor Ray Stephanson.
Members of a residents group, Save Our Communities, worry that commercial flights could hurt property values.
“You have a social contract. It goes to ethics in government more than anything,” said Greg Hauth, president of Save Our Communities, a Mukilteo-based group that has fought commercial airline service at Paine Field since 1992.
“We do think (the terminal study) is a waste of time and they shouldn’t be doing it,” he said.
Reardon spokesman Mark Funk said the terminal study will help the county executive decide whether pursuing commercial flights is a viable option.
Snohomish County Council President Gary Nelson said the effort to look at commercial flights at Paine Field is Reardon’s.
He said it’s up to the airline industry to decide when Paine Field is a viable option, pointing out that three small airlines have tried and failed to offer service out of Paine Field in the past.
“You tell me which airline wants to come in,” Nelson said. “The market is going to be the driver of what happens out of Paine Field.”
Reporter Lukas Velush: 425-339-3449 or lvelush@heraldnet.com.
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