Bringin' the Paine

I have been praying for an expansion of flights to Seattle Paine Field International Airport in Washington ever since my first time flying there back in October of 2021. I love Paine Field. Let me reiterate. I LOVE Paine Field. It is a fantastic way to get into the Northern suburbs of Seattle without flying into the gigantic Seattle/Tacoma International Airport, which is seeming under perpetual construction, making flying in or out of there a tad tricky as of late. Oh, I know airports go through renovations and new buildouts all the time. I just don't like it when I'm caught up in them and end up getting lost. But that's neither here nor there, back to the topic at hand.

On March 4th, 2025, Frontier Airlines announced new flights into Paine Field from Denver, Phoenix, and Las Vegas, to begin June 2. I was ecstatic. Now, Paine FIeld only has one airline serving it, Alaska Airlines. I also love Alaska Airlines dearly, as they are my preferred carrier in the United States, and all of my flights into and out of Paine Field have been on Alaska. I've covered several inaugural flights for them out of Paine Field as well (most can be found on this website, others in published print magazines such as Airways Magazine), namely to Anchorage, Honolulu, and Palm Springs.

As much as I love Alaska Airlines, though, I do like seeing competition and more choices out of any given airport. Paine Field has that kind of potential. United used to serve the airport until the COVID-19 epidemic in 2020, leaving Alaska as the sole occupant. Now Frontier wants to come in and hopefully stick around with lower fares than what Alaska offers (there has been a huge increase in fares as of late). It will face stiff competition from Alaska on the flights to Phoenix and Las Vegas, at least for the three times a week the flights will operate. Denver is also slated for thrice weekly service as well, and Frontier is the sole carrier on the route, unless Alaska retaliates by adding service and cities to their already decent list of destinations.

The only downside here is Frontier is known for coming into a city with new flights and quickly exiting if they can't make any headway. Most airlines tend to stick around until the routes achieve some level of maturity and the local communities know and can reliably count on said flights to remain. Frontier has a nasty habit of starting up service or opening bases and then quickly shuttering them. Not a great way to run an airline, if you ask me. Nevertheless, I am a fan of Frontier Airlines to an extent. the flights I take on them are long-standing routes and somewhat relatively short distances in or out of Salt Lake City or Las Vegas. For what they do, they do decently. Low-cost flights and no frills, at a somewhat more decent price compared to the large network carriers. I usually end up taking them when Alaska's schedules just don't mesh with mine, or United requires too many stops, or what have you.

That being said, Frontier has undergone a massive change in how they run, at least on the customer-facing front, such as better pricing, eliminating change or cancellation fees, a new, longer period to use flight credits, and upgraded seating up front in the first three rows of the aircraft. Now, if they could just work on the operational side and quit making it seem like their route planning department is a bunch of drunk squirrels throwing darts at a map and then shaking it like an Etch A Sketch to see which darts fall off and axing service to those cities. They need to make solid network additions that make sense to their operating bases they have and make reliability a reality (where have I heard that before?) before they can control the yield out of any city outside of Denver, Orlando, Tampa, or Cancun.

Now, back to Paine Field itself. I love hearing about new services out of there (as mentioned above). Doesn't matter the airline, honestly. It's all good. Right now, the terminal has 2 jetway-equipped gates, but I'm betting that with more permanent and sustained seasonal services, there might be room for a little expansion. Maybe by one or two more gates. If we're down to throwing names for new destinations around, how about Chicago/O'Hare, Calgary, Dallas/Ft. Worth, Houston/Bush Intercontinental, or Salt Lake City? Maybe even Albuquerque? OK, that last one is a stretch, but a guy can dream, right?

One more thing: Paine Field isn't a public-run airport, it's completely run and funded by Propeller Investments, as they have a 50-year lease from Snohomish County to finance, build, and operate the terminal. They are also responsible for attracting new vendors and airlines with new service to the field. This is similar to what goes on in Europe, such as with London/Heathrow, Athens International Eleftherios Venizelos, Helsinki/Vantaa, and other airfields, run by companies such as Finavia and Fraport.

The Travel Genius Opinion

As I stated above, I'm happy to see Frontier starting service to Paine Field. Denver, Phoenix, and Las Vegas all start off with flights 3 times a week on June 2, using Airbus A320 and A321 (both CEO and NEO versions) aircraft. Introductory fares begin at $29 one way to Phoenix and $39 one way to Denver and Las Vegas. Knowing Frontier's system, I fully expect at the very least Denver to add more flights or going to a full-time daily schedule, while Las Vegas might see an additional frequency or two, with Phoenix possibly staying at 3 weekly flights.

Paine Field is a fantastic option for Washingtonians who live North of Seattle and are tired of the commute down to Seatac and the endless construction at the big jetport. It's even been recognized as the best regional airport in the world by Monocle Magazine, and even USA Today has named it one of the best small airports in the United States. I, myself, love the airport; it's quaint, well run, well kept, and a delight to get in and out of. Even during its busier times, the wait at TSA is almost nonexistent, even with the single checkpoint. Once past TSA, a turn to either direction and you are less than 20 feet from the 2 gate areas, and right in front of you is the gorgeous lobby area with beautiful views of the ramp and neighboring scenery, as well as fireplaces at both ends, comfortable seating with plug-in ports, and a row of gorgeous wooden rocking chairs facing the huge floor to ceiling windows. Waiting for a flight has never been more relaxing or peaceful, not even in the vaunted Alaska Lounges down at Sea-Tac.