Unlike the commercial airports in Bellingham and Abbotsford, British Columbia, the passenger terminal at Paine Field in Snohomish County isn’t operated by the local government. Instead, it’s a relative rarity in the U.S.: a public-private partnership in which the county contracted with for-profit Propeller Airports to handle all of it.
“Snohomish County studied the option of building, owning and operating a terminal directly but determined that it was too expensive,” said Kristin Banfield, public information officer for Paine Field Snohomish County Airport. So Propeller was given a 50-year lease to privately finance, build and operate the terminal.
[ Read more: Bellingham airport pursuing larger role in Northwest Washington air travel ]
“Propeller has spent upwards of $40 million on a state-of-the art facility and assumed the financial risk,” she said.
Banfield said the resulting partnership, five years after the PAE terminal opened its doors in March 2019, has been “very successful.” She said in the first full year of operations — before the pandemic interfered with air travel — more than 1 million passengers came through the terminal, exceeding the county’s projections.
Alaska Airlines is currently the only passenger airline serving the terminal at what in 2023 was rebranded as Seattle Paine Field International Airport to help reinforce its proximity to Seattle. Airline spokesperson Ray Lane said Alaska’s approach has evolved.
“Our initial strategy was that Paine Field would allow for greater ease for north Puget Sound region business travelers to head out on quick business trips,” Lane said. “However, as the number of those meetings dwindled post-pandemic, we’ve shifted to PAE service to be more leisure-focused.”
Both Lane and Propeller Airport CEO Brett Smith said even with 10 Alaska destinations being served from PAE, the airport is not at capacity. Smith estimates it’s roughly at the halfway point with the current terminal and its two boarding gate areas.
“Our primary focus is on attracting new carriers and routes,” Smith said.
Frank Catalano writes about business and related topics for CDN; reach him at frankcatalano@cascadiadaily.com.
