Seattle Times business reporter
Frontier Airlines is ending service at Seattle Paine Field International Airport in January, just seven months after launching routes from the Everett airport.
The budget airline began service from Paine Field in June, offering flights twice a week to Denver, Las Vegas and Phoenix. Propeller Airports, which operates the Seattle Paine Field Passenger Terminal, had hoped the new routes would bring an extra 100,000 annual travelers in and out of Everett.
Instead, Frontier said Friday it would end its Paine Field service in “early January.”
“We periodically review and update routes based on market demand,” a spokesperson for the airline said. “We greatly value our partnership with Paine Field and, as with any market departure, we will continue to evaluate a potential return at some point in the future.”
The Daily Herald first reported the news.
Frontier’s departure leaves Paine Field with just one major carrier. Alaska Airlines offers routes from Paine Field to several California destinations, as well as Las Vegas, Phoenix and Honolulu. About 30 miles north of downtown Seattle, the airport markets itself as a low-stress, less-crowded alternative to Seattle-Tacoma International Airport.
“While Frontier has made strategic changes in recent weeks, including its exit from Paine Field, demand remains strong and travelers will continue to have access to the same destinations through Alaska,” Brett Smith, CEO of Propeller Airports, said in a statement Friday.
Frontier will continue to offer flights from Sea-Tac, including the Denver, Las Vegas and Phoenix routes that it had launched at Paine Field.
Lauren Rosenblatt: 206-464-2927 or lrosenblatt@seattletimes.com. Lauren Rosenblatt is a Seattle Times business reporter covering Boeing and the aerospace industry.