Starting in Fall 2021: Southwest Airlines Announces Intent to Serve Bellingham International Airport

[pnwguy2]

Interesting. I think the future of BLI is strong. Yes, Canadian traffic will be important once the border opens. In addition, traffic from Snohomish county north may prefer this airport compared to the hassle of SeaTac.

I also expect strong passenger growth at Paine Field in Everett which is poised to become the 2nd Seattle metro airport.

[rkcarguy]

Originally Posted by pnwguy2

Interesting. I think the future of BLI is strong. Yes, Canadian traffic will be important once the border opens. In addition, traffic from Snohomish county north may prefer this airport compared to the hassle of SeaTac.

I also expect strong passenger growth at Paine Field in Everett which is poised to become the 2nd Seattle metro airport.

Again, the schedules will ultimately decide how successful the new flights will be. Direct flights will be key. Several times I had training in Oregon for example, and for the first weeks session work flew me down there. I left Bellingham at 4:30am, had to wait at SeaTac until 12:30pm, caught my next flight and had another 2-1/2 hour layover in Oregon, and didn't arrive until 8pm. Then I had no car for the whole week. The second time I drove with a company car, and it only took me 6 hours to get there and I had wheels for the week as well.

[NJguy1986]

Any update on when this will officially begin?

[StealthRabbit]

They claim by Fall. It wouldn't be worth doing before the border opens, as their passenger loads and routes would all need to change. SWA has already begun their new service to Colo springs, Santa Barbara, and Palm Springs.

I would expect Oakland, LA, LAS, PHX, Denver ( or SLC) will be the first routes out of Bellingham. But it real depends on market research of where the Canadians are headed and which hubs best serve those destinations. (Since SWA does not do "Directs", as part of their business model. It is really interesting that the directs (to hubs) are cheaper on SWA yet usually more expensive on legacy carriers.

[NJguy1986]

Originally Posted by StealthRabbit

They claim by Fall. It wouldn't be worth doing before the border opens, as their passenger loads and routes would all need to change. SWA has already begun their new service to Colo springs, Santa Barbara, and Palm Springs.

I would expect Oakland, LA, LAS, PHX, Denver ( or SLC) will be the first routes out of Bellingham. But it real depends on market research of where the Canadians are headed and which hubs best serve those destinations. (Since SWA does not do "Directs", as part of their business model. It is really interesting that the directs (to hubs) are cheaper on SWA yet usually more expensive on legacy carriers.

Got it. I’m not familiar with SWA, I usually fly JetBlue in nj or Alaska since being in WA