Business View Magazine | December 2018

152 153 YAKIMA AIR TERMINAL agement, while the Airport, itself, is responsi- ble for maintenance and operations. “We are a commercial airport and we have a strong general aviation and corporate pres- ence,”Peterson explains.“The last survey we did showed 132 aircraft that call our airport home - that ranges from light sport aircraft all the way up to corporate jets that are parked here.” Commercial air service is provided byAlaska Airlines,which offers daily flights to/from Seat- tle-Tacoma International Airport and utilizes the Bombardier Q400 aircraft that accommodates 76 passengers; charter air service is provided by Sun Country and Swift Air; and air cargo service by FedEx and United Parcel Service.The termi- nal building has five aircraft parking gates, all of which transition passengers through a ground level terminal concourse. What makes the Yakima Air Terminal-McAllis- ter Field so successful? The old adage: location, location, location. In the state of Washington, Yakima is centrally located with approximately 270 days of sunshine which provides excellent weather conditions for flying. “There are a variety of commercial airports within the state of Washington,” says Peter- son. “Interestingly enough, although we are partners in providing passengers with access to air service, there is that little form of com- petition among all the other airports in the state. One ideal item that we have, or one key strength that we have, is that we are essen- tially located between the west side and east side of Washington State. So within a two, or two and a half hour drive, you can almost touch the majority of this state and access our Airport.” “Our location gives us an edge in terms of gen- eral aviation, as well,” he continues. “And the other catch behind that is that you have the opportuni- ty to witness a lot of aeronautical operations over on the west side which are completely land- locked in terms of development opportunities. So, a lot of corporations on the west side actually do hop over the Cascades and the first commercial airport that has a decent runway and instrument landing system, as well as an air traffic control tower as you head east, is us. So, we do see a lot of corporations from the west side that are very interested in developing hangars and corporate jet headquarters here.” Recognizing this, City of Yakima started the “Fly Yakima” marketing program in 2013. The program was all about helping the public recognize the convenience of the airport. “When I joined the team,” Peterson recounts, “I had the opportunity to review what Alaska Airlines was doing as far as their air service, and when they transitioned from the Q200, which was a 37-seat aircraft with seven flights a day, to the Q400 with more passenger space, we went from seven flights down to three. Essentially what this did was inconvenience the passengers as far as layovers and waiting times.We identified that 70-75