United Airlines to offer commercial flights out of Paine Field

EVERETT, Wash. — A second major U.S. airline announced today it will begin commercial service from Paine Field.

United said it will begin offering flights out of Everett in the fall of 2018.

Passengers will be able to take advantage of six daily commercial flights out of Paine Field to its hubs in Denver and San Francisco.

One Everett resident said this is a long time coming.

“I am fine with it. I am looking forward to it,” said Tony Demaro. “It’s better than going an hour, an hour-a-half to Sea-Tac. It’s better to go five to 10 minutes down the street.”

In the announcement, United said this move is to better serve customers in the growing communities in the North Sound.

That could give a million-plus travelers the chance to fly out of Paine Field instead of making the more than 36-mile trip to Sea-Tac Airport.

Heather Gee works in Everett and said congestion on the freeways heading south can add to the frustrations of traveling.

“Sometime traffic can be pretty terrible to Sea-Tac,” said Gee. “So definitely flying out of Paine Field can be really convenient."

Next year, United will share operations in a brand new, 30,000-square-foot terminal that broke ground in June.

That’s when Alaska Airlines announced it would be the first airline to launch commercial flights out of Paine Field.

There is no word yet on what destinations the airlines will serve.

There has been some legal backlash for the terminal project, including from the city of Mukilteo.

Officials cite negative environmental impact due to excess noise and extra road traffic.

KIRO 7 reached out to the contractor of this new terminal and asked if it has the capacity to handle two airlines.

They said it won't be a problem, but they are not looking to add any more airlines at this time.

We also found out that Snohomish County is setting up an airport commission to get public input on future airport operations.

Community meetings will begin later this year.

Cox Media Group