Alaska Begins Selling Flights From Paine Field, Boeing's Everett Home

Alaska Airlines announced Thursday that tickets are on sale for 18 daily nonstop flights between Paine Field-Snohomish County Airport (PAE) in Everett, Washington, and eight West Coast cities.

Service is scheduled to start Feb. 11, 2019, subject to government approval, between Everett's Paine Field and Las Vegas (LAS). Flights to other destinations will roll out not long thereafter: Los Angeles (LAX), Orange County (SNA), Phoenix (PHX), Portland (PDX), San Diego (SAN), San Francisco (SFO) and San Jose (SJC).

I’ll be touring the new passenger terminal this morning for The Points Guy to get a look at Paine Field, which should save time for travelers who live north of Seattle. Early renderings show an airport terminal that looks like it will be much easier and more comfortable to fly out of than SeaTac (SEA), which is south of Seattle.

Alaska is taking all five gate slots from Southwest Airlines, increasing its service and commitment to the Pacific Northwest. With six gate slots, United Airlines is also planning to operate flights from PAE to San Francisco (SFO) and Denver (DEN).

To kick off the new flights, Alaska is offering a two-day sale on fares to and from Paine Field starting as low as $39 one-way plus taxes and fees. Flights to Portland (PDX) can be booked for $39, while tickets to other destinations such as Los Angeles, Las Vegas, or San Diego are priced at about $69.

Mileage Plan members can also register for a special promotion to earn double redeemable miles for all nonstop flights to and from Paine Field through March 31, 2019. Alaska’s Mileage Plan miles are some of the highest-valued miles in TPG’s valuations because of sweet spots for redemptions on its distance-based award chart and airline partners.

Alaska’s service of Paine Field in Boeing’s backyard of Everett will be provided by Horizon Air with Embraer 175 aircraft equipped with first class, premium class and main cabin economy.

There are no middle seats on the E175 — just aisle and window seats.

For an additional fee — just $35 on a dummy booking I tested — you can buy a seat in "premium class," which includes 4 more inches of legroom than other main cabin seats, early boarding and drinks.

Alaska MVP, MVP Gold and Gold 75K Mileage Plan members will be eligible for a free upgrade to Premium Class, depending on the fare purchased.