Originally Posted by
Seattlenerd
Funny you should mention PAE. Whenever schedule changes hit and PAE suddenly has a better nonstop schedule for a route than connecting from BLI through SEA, I have switched to PAE (even though parking is ridiculously expensive at PAE for its size).
That may happen with an upcoming March/April flight to PSP once schedule changes roll forward. So far, so good, including the most recent Sunday overnight check.
I wrote a fair amount about the growth and challenges at both BLI and PAE when I was doing a regular newspaper column. The
glory days of BLI for commercial passenger travel were in the 2010s with its new terminal and AS flights to Hawaii, Las Vegas and Portland. It's a shame it hasn't benefitted from the capacity limits at SEA. PAE
apparently has, though it's been wobbly.
Meantime, I'll keep grabbing coffee and clicks every Sunday morning to check for AS changes.
BLI has been frustrating for years, especially now the SW has pulled out. I know the Port has been trying hard to bring in another carrier, but that hasn't been very fruitful. They sent out a survey last month asking residents what they'd value in new service and what routes they'd like to see. With AS there, AA is off the table, and not sure Delta or United want to start service there. As mentioned above, PDX and GEG would be good expansions for AS, but doubtful of that. We did do the PAE-PDX flight a few times before that got axed. As we live in the area we try to fly out of YVR more than SEA. Closer and a much nicer experience....and usually significantly cheaper when flying elsewhere besides the US.