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There’s currently one major, public airport running commercial flights out of Seattle, and it’s about 13 miles south of downtown in SeaTac. But in a year, there will be another, albeit smaller, option to the north: A public-private airport at Everett’s Paine Field. As opening day draws closer, three airlines have announced plans to run flights out of the airport so far.
Alaska Airlines already plans on running 13 departures a day from Everett as the launch carrier—the majority of the airport’s capacity. United signed on back in August, planning to run about six flights per day. Today’s addition of Southwest Airlines, who plans on operating up to five flights a day from Everett, brings the total number of carriers to three.
Alaska plans to run nonstop flights to Las Vegas, Los Angeles, Orange County, Phoenix, Portland, San Diego, San Francisco, and San Jose from the airfield. United is planning runs to Denver and San Francisco. Southwest’s release didn’t specify which cities they plan to serve.
The airport, which broke ground back in June, is set to open later this year and will be built by Propeller Airports, in partnership with Snohomish County.
It will be a whole lot smaller than SeaTac, with just two gates, but that appears to be translating into a far less hectic experience.
Renderings of the passenger terminal released last year show warm, exposed-beam, wooden ceilings; wide, plush chairs; and even brick fireplaces—although Propeller has since switched gears to a more “midcentury modern look.”