EVERETT — Whether you call it the Lilac City, Spokaloo, or the home of the Gonzaga Bulldogs, Alaska Airlines will begin daily nonstop flights to Spokane from Paine Field starting a few weeks before Thanksgiving.
The airline says Spokane is one of its most requested destinations.
Service starts Monday, Nov. 4, with a daily night flight to Spokane at 7:55 p.m. and a daily morning flight from Spokane to Everett at 7:40 a.m.
The flight takes about one hour. Morningtime Paine Field passengers to Spokane will still be routed through Portland on a three-hour tour.
Alaska Airlines offers about 15 daily nonstop flights to Spokane from Seattle-Tacoma Airport.
The home of the Bloomsday Run will become the 11th destination you can fly
directly to from Paine Field. Alaska Airlines and United Airlines fly from here.
Alaska is cutting back one of its four flights to Los Angeles to add the Spokane trip.
As of late July, nearly 300,000 guests have flown Alaska’s flights at Paine Field, the airline said. Overall, the airport could serve 1.4 million passengers a year, according to a statement from Snohomish County.
Passenger service began this February.
Alaska connects Everett passengers to eight destinations: Los Angeles; Phoenix; Portland; Las Vegas; San Diego; San Francisco; Orange County, California; and San Jose.
United Airlines, meanwhile, offers service to its hubs in Denver and San Francisco.
Alaska announced previously that it will begin service to Palm Springs, California, the airport’s 10th destination, this fall.
Compared to a one-hour flight, driving to Spokane can take five hours using I-90 or six hours using U.S. 2. An Amtrak train trip takes about seven hours because the train to Spokane departs from Seattle’s King Street Station.
