Northwest Aerospace News October | November Issue No. 11 | Page 11

S
ince it opened in March, about
70 percent of the passengers come
through the new terminal at the Ev-
erett, Washington airfield, said Brett
Smith, CEO of Propeller Airports,
which operates the terminal as part
of a public-private partnership with
Snohomish County.
Aerospace industry travelers are
obviously a significant part of that.
The new terminal shares an airport
with Boeing’s largest factory, where
it builds wide-body commercial 747s,
767s, 777s and 787s, along with KC-
45 tankers for the U.S. Air Force.
The new terminal also provides easy
access to more than 200 Boeing
suppliers around Snohomish County,
clustered in industrial parks and office
complexes from Lynnwood to Stan-
wood.
Those aerospace industry travelers,
however, are sharing the terminal
with tech industry travelers and many
others as well Smith said. “Microsoft,
Costco – any of them.”
The draw: shorter waits at baggage
claim and security, and the ability to
avoid clogged traffic on Interstates 5
and 405 from SeaTac through Seattle
and Bellevue.
Before Paine Field opened to air
travel, it was typically just as fast
— even faster — to drive to Everett
from Spokane or Portland than to fly
through Seattle-Tacoma International
Airport, with its far-flung parking
lots, train rides between terminals and
long waits in check-in, security and
baggage claim lines. (A reporter from
Seattle’s KING-TV quipped that it
takes 90 minutes to drive to SeaTac
from Everett – but only 22 minutes to
fly to Portland from Paine.)
OCTOBER | NOVEMBER 2019 ISSUE NO. 11
11