terminal, pull up to the parking lot, walk as little as 20 feet to the door, check in, and board the plane.”
SeaPort Airlines already offers service between Seattle and Portland, and now offers eight flights daily between Seattle and Spokane, with about 20 flights per day between the three cities.
David Haring, CEO of Spokane Airport, noted,“ Felts Field( SFF), part of the Spokane Airport system, is a general aviation reliever airport located approximately five miles northeast of downtown Spokane, and about 20 minutes from Spokane International Airport( GEG). It’ s one of the nation’ s oldest federally designated airports, and up until 1946, served as Spokane’ s only commercial service airport.” Haring likes the SeaPort option because it lets business travelers get a full day’ s work done and be home for dinner.“ In fact, every day, nearly 500 passengers travel between the two regions. Put another way, that’ s over 182,000 round-trip passengers per year,” he added.
Why did it take 80 years for this remarkable, and easy airline option to take off? It might have occurred as early as 20 years ago when Craford first envisioned the commuter airline option. But it took several years to stand up the concept, and all his money to get it rolling. He saw urban traffic increasing in Portland and Seattle, and said it was slow going getting the airline off the ground with a business partner. He ended up in Alaska, found two new business partners, and founded Alaska Seaplanes. They ended up with 20 aircraft and 250 employees.
“ SeaPort Airlines is a division of the Juneau, Alaska-based Kalinin group of regional airlines, which includes Alaska Seaplanes and Island Air Express,” according to their website( https:// flyseaportair. com /).
Craford said there are similar regional airlines that compete with SeaPort. Many of them operate with a membership or subscription model, whereas SeaPort just sells tickets,“ They make it more difficult than it has to be,” he observed. He said it is very simple— with a regularly scheduled airline, a route map, and selling tickets for individual seats.
“ That is the best way to do it,” he reflected.
While there are eight commercial airlines and two cargo airlines flying out of Spokane Airports, Haring is excited about the new addition of SeaPort Airlines at Felts Field( which is owned by Spokane Airports).“ Despite the geographical distance
DESPITE THE GEOGRAPHICAL DISTANCE AND THE NATURAL DIVIDE OF THE CASCADES, WASHINGTON’ S TWO LARGEST CITIES, SEATTLE AND SPOKANE, HAVE ALWAYS BEEN INTRINSICALLY LINKED BY COMMERCE AND COMMUNITY.
and the natural divide of the Cascades, Washington’ s two largest cities, Seattle and Spokane, have always been intrinsically linked by commerce and community. Our airport team is always evaluating new opportunities to make it easier for travelers to access the people, places, and experiences that matter most, and we are grateful for the work carriers like SeaPort are doing to improve connectivity for Spokane-Coeur d’ Alene passengers.”
Andy Kline, marketing manager at Alaska Seaplanes | SeaPort Airlines, has served with the company for five years. Originating in Alaska, he has spent time in the Pacific Northwest as SeaPort Airlines has ramped up service.
APRIL | MAY 2026 ISSUE NO. 50 15