Airline service getting closer, Horizon’s Russo tells Private Enterprise Council

By John Wolcott

SCBJ Editor

Airline service at Paine Field continues to move closer, Horizon Air Marketing Vice President Dan Russo told the Snohomish County Private Enterprise Coalition (PEC) in March.

“We are continuing to negotiate in good faith with Snohomish County Executive Aaron Reardon’s office, including planning for the terminal we’ll need, he said. “But we will not make our original Apr. 1 launch time. However, that was initially the date we used in our December 2008 letter to the county to get things going. Now, we’re just adjusting it.”

Russo said that once the terminal and other needs are addressed, Horizon Air would announce a date, which will also be dependent on when an aircraft is available.

“The Q400 Bombardier is a $20 million plane that our investors are buying to provide service for you. We don’t just have one or more of those sitting around waiting for an opportunity to fly,” Russo said.

“We’ll either have to buy one or redeploy one that is in use elsewhere. As part of updating our fleet we’re changing over gradually to having all Q400s because they’re so quiet,” he added.

Not only are the planes the quietest airliners in service, specifically designed for urban airports, but they should blend in well with Paine Field’s existing air traffic, he said.

“You’ve got around 400 flights a day from Paine Field, including big planes that make a lot more noise than ours do,” he said. “I think people won’t even notice ours coming and going. We’re only talking about six flights a day, four to Portland and two to Spokane, and that’s not exactly LaGuardia.”

Horizon Air provides more flights than that from Pasco, where there are other airlines, too, and on “any day you go there it doesn’t look like much is happening,” he said.

Russo said the population and business growth in Snohomish County, once the economy returns, makes it a very attractive market for Horizon.

“We believe opportunities exist here to supplement our primary Sea-Tac flights, to add to the options we offer. Compared to a five-hour drive to Spokane or who knows how many hours to Sea-Tac for a flight to Portland, we think we offer an attractive alternative,” Russo said.

“The real advantage for county residents is that once you reach Portland you can connect to flights to San Francisco, Los Angeles, Phoenix and other places, including international destinations, all by flying out of Paine Field,” he said.

Russo emphasized that Horizon’s Paine Field flights are supplemental to the airline’s main airport, Sea-Tac, saying Seattle “will always be our largest and primary flight center.”

“Probably the most important thing I can tell you is that once the terminal is set up — we’re doing away with the bulky counters and making it more friendly for travelers — and we’re ready to announce service dates, you’ll find air service is something that stays around,” Russo said. “People get used to it and support it, that’s how it grows. Once we put the flights out there, they’ll get used.”

The crowd of more than 80 included business leaders from across the county as well as several elected officials, among them Everett Mayor Ray Stephanson and Snohomish County Councilman John Koster, both supporters of bringing commercial airline service to Paine Field.

The meeting was moderated by newly elected PEC President Sean Straub, fourth-generation Everett native who’s a business development officer for the Bank of Everett, a member of the Everett Young Professionals group and a Mukilteo resident. He’s also on the board of the Economic Development Council of Snohomish County, on the Executive Committee of the PEC and is a board member of the South Everett-Mukilteo Rotary Club.

“Airline service has always been our signature effort,” Straub said. “We work to focus on local business issues that will help economic development. People ask us what about the role of the chambers of commerce and the EDC in economic development? We tell them the PEC gets involved with a narrower focus on specific issues rather than spending time on general ones.”

Radio station KRKO 1380’s owner, Andy Skotdal, attended the PEC session, too, recording the presentations by Russo and Greg Casey, CEO of the Business Industry Political Action Committee (BIPAC) in Washington D.C.. The Private Enterprise Coalition recordings are available on the station’s Web site, www.krko.com.