SeaPort Airlines Lets You Glimpse Aviation’s Golden Era

A new regional airline now offers “charter-like” flights that will connect Redmond to select locations in the Pacific Northwest.

And you can even skip security checkpoints and lines.

SeaPort Airlines, based in Juneau, Alaska, began offering business flights last year. The limited service runs weekdays and connects Roberts Field at the Redmond Municipal Airport to PDX to Seattle’s Boeing Field and Spokane’s Felt Field from May 22 to Labor Day. A round-trip flight from Redmond to PDX, booking a week in advance, costs about $577, according to a recent online search.

These nine-passenger flights are tailored for business passengers and folks who’d rather spend less than an hour in the air than five hours covering the same distance along, say, Interstate 5, says Andy Kline, the airline’s marketing manager.

SeaPort flights offer a similar experience to flying charter. First off, passengers of planes with nine seats or less aren’t required to pass through the Transportation Security Administration checkpoints because of the Federal Aviation Administration’s Part 135 stipulation, carved out in late 2001.

The niche carrier’s fleet of turbo propeller Pilatus PC-12 planes, made in Switzerland, look like classics from aviation’s golden era, yet they’re fully modern planes built within 10 years and fitted with state-of-the-art aviation systems.

“The planes look like private jets,” Kline said, mentioning their pressurized cabins that can typically cruise between 14,000 and 20,000 feet. “They’re very powerful and maneuverable. The pilots love them.”

“There’s no hassle. You park for free at the terminals that we have. You just walk up 20 minutes before your flight,” Kline said. “Then our pilot comes and gets you when they’re ready to go. It’s all very low stress and very easy to do.”

Window seat? Aisle? You get two-in-one seating when the plane only has nine seats Credit: SeaPort Airlines

The seats are leather but don’t recline. Kline said you won’t even notice because most flights are under an hour, which means your neck won’t have time to get stiff like on longer flights. Each seat is situated by both a window and an aisle. There aren’t any snacks, there’s no WIFI, but you won’t notice because you’ve practically arrived.

“There’s plenty of legroom — and I’m 6’2”,” Kline said with a chuckle, adding that SeaPort isn’t operating like budget carriers that economize every last inch of space.

“We like to say that a flight with us is the least significant part of your day. You can have a full work week [in Portland] and be back home in Redmond or Bend for dinner on Friday night.”