Reaction came fast from community members and businesses after Southwest Airlines announced Thursday, April 25 that it planned to stop service at Bellingham International Airport.
Flights out of Bellingham, and three other airports, by the Dallas-based carrier will end on Aug. 4, 2024. The decision came after Southwest reported first-quarter losses as well as aircraft delivery delays from Boeing.
Ron Malfatti, a retired electrical worker, and his wife frequently use Southwest to fly nonstop to Oakland to visit family in the San Francisco Bay area. The couple has plans to fly Southwest in July.
“We depended on that ever since they came into the Bellingham Airport and that was our preferred carrier,” the 69-year-old said. “Now, we’re going to have to explore other options.”
Other options are in the works, said Kip Turner, the aviation director at BLI. The airport is in frequent talks with other carriers to bring more flights to Bellingham, he said. Turner wouldn’t disclose which carriers, but said the Pacific Northwest and Bellingham offer a vibrant market.
A spokesperson from Alaska Airlines said the carrier is potentially looking to add more flights at Bellingham later in the year based on Southwest’s departure.
Jolene and Alan Frank arrived on Thursday to BLI on a Southwest flight from Las Vegas. Currently living in Austin, Jolene said they fly to Bellingham via Vegas about four or five times a year to visit their children and grandchildren.
“I guess we’re going to fly Alaska now,” Jolene said.
Kamray Runnels, who also lives in Austin, said he flies to Bellingham a couple of times a year to get to Whistler.
Runnels said he’s a credit card holder with Southwest, so he likes to book domestic flights with them. With flights canceled in August, he’ll now have to fly to Seattle and drive further to get to Whistler.
“It is going to suck because I like how this airport is small and there’s normally plenty of seats available,” Runnels said.
Southwest relies on Boeing aircraft but because of a slowdown in production related to quality and safety concerns, the carrier will not be able to receive the 48 aircraft it had planned for. Instead, it hopes to receive 20 aircraft that will replace 35 planned aircraft retirements.
Employees will also be impacted, including 18 employees at BLI. Southwest planned to limit hiring and increase voluntary time off. The company said it expects to end 2024 with approximately 2,000 fewer employees compared to the end of 2023.
Vicki Rogers, owner of Halibut Henry’s, a cafe in the airport, said the news was disappointing in a number of ways. Employees in the airport work close together in the small building, Rogers said, and it will be sad to lose the Southwest staff at BLI come August.
“It’s sad for Whatcom County and lower British Columbia and the San Juans and all the people in this community who love flying out of BLI because it’s so convenient,” she said.
Guy Occhiogrosso, president of the Bellingham Regional Chamber of Commerce, said Southwest’s decision to leave Bellingham would also impact Canadians served by the airline.
“The community benefits from our Canadian neighbors coming down and shopping and flying out of our airport,” he said. “So having fewer outbound destinations that our Canadian neighbors, friends and family utilize is a pain point.”
Southwest is notifying customers who had tickets booked after Aug. 5 either into or out of Bellingham about what their options are, according to a spokesperson for the company.
Southwest started operating out of BLI in 2021 with flights to Las Vegas, as part of the carrier’s expansion during the COVID-19 pandemic. By 2023, the carrier offered flights to Las Vegas, Oakland and Denver. The airline was preparing to expand its services from Bellingham to Denver in June.
With Southwest’s planned departure, Allegiant, Alaska Airlines and San Juan Airlines will remain the only carriers. Prior to 2022, Alaska used to offer additional nonstop flights from Bellingham to locations such as Honolulu.
