Alaska Airlines will spread its wings over Everett beginning this Fall! The carrier announced on Tuesday that it will offer 8 new routes from the Paine Field, Snohomish County Airport in Everett, Washington to include: Las Vegas, Los Angeles, Orange County, Phoenix, Portland, San Diego, San Francisco, and San Jose. The airport did not previously have commercial airline service. Portland, San Francisco, Los Angeles and San Diego are either Alaska hubs or “focus cities”, so passengers may be able to book one-stop connecting itineraries to other cities in Alaska Airlines’ network.

This is exciting news for travelers that will take advantage of the shorter commute and avoid the congestion at the Seattle-Tacoma International Airport, which has been a major hub for Alaska and recently for Delta as well. This recent passenger growth has pushed Sea-Tac almost to capacity, making it the 9^th busiest airport in the U.S. To accommodate this growth, the Port of Seattle is investing more than $2 billion in capital-improvement projects at Sea-Tac, including the North Satellite modernization project, a new International Arrivals Facility and a new baggage-handling system. This Spring, a new international service via Air France with direct flights to Paris will begin; Aer Lingus will begin service to Dublin on May 18; and Thomas Cook Airline will begin seasonal service to Manchester beginning May 27.

Located 25 miles north of Seattle, a new passenger terminal is being built at Paine Field to accommodate the announced passenger service. Paine Field is also home to Boeing’s largest assembly line, where the jet manufacturer performs final assembly on is 747, 767, 777, and 787 wide body aircraft in Everett.