Joshua Marcy. “The smaller runway is obviously for the smaller piston engine aircraft. The big runway handles everything, Boeing, commercial service, GA, all of the above.” Commercial service began in 2019, offering travelers a more relaxed alternative to SEA.“Pre-COVID, we were at about a million passengers,” Marcy relays. “We’re about 65 percent of where we were before COVID, we’re seeing a slower recovery, on the commercial service side, which is happening nationwide. Major hubs have rebounded more rapidly.” Three airlines, Horizon, Alaska, and Frontier, currently operate from Paine Field, serving destinations from Denver westward. Along with passenger service, the airport supports a wide range of aviation activity. “We have MROs, (maintenance, repair, and overhaul),” Marcy explains. “ATS, (Aviation Technical Services) is the third largest employer in Snohomish County and they have about 1,600 employees inside their building.”The company specializes in servicing large group-three aircraft such as the Boeing 737. One of the region’s biggest economic impacts is Boeing, whose dual-isle aircraft has historically been manufactured at Paine Field. Marcy expands, “The 787 has moved to South Carolina, so the current fleet mix of what Boeing is designing and building here is the 777s, the new 777Xs that are coming out with the folding wingtips, and the 767s, including the refuelers for the military.” A new line for the 737 is also under development at the site. “The goal is, when Renton, where the 737s are made, hits capacity, PAE will be the relief valve,” he says. “We are currently in that process of starting to see some 737 activity here, and hopefully we’ll see some deliveries in the near future.” ONE OF THE NATION’S TOP GENERAL AVIATION AIRPORTS While Boeing and commercial flights are a mainstay, general aviation remains the backbone of Paine Field’s day-to-day activity. “We do about 140,000 operations a year, and 80 percent of that is GA, if not more,” Marcy reports. “We are the fourth largest general aviation airport this side of the Mississippi and 12th in the country in terms of how many general aviation aircraft are based here.” He says that private owners, and the two flight schools, Regal Air and Rainier Flight Service, account for much of the activity. “We have several of those on the field, and they practice all the time.The majority of all of our takeoffs and landings are probably students learning how to fly.” Paine Field’s FixedBase Operator, Propeller Aero Services, provides fuel, hangar, and ground services to these operators and transient aircraft. The mix also includes medevac helicopters, on-demand charter flights, and privately owned planes. 203 BUSINESS VIEW MAGAZINE VOLUME 12, ISSUE 11 PAINE FIELD AIRPORT
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