Southwest To Operate 5 Daily Flights From Paine Field

EVERETT, WA - Southwest Airlines will be operating five flights daily from Everett's Paine Field beginning in the fall, according to a statement from the company. With Southwest on board, Paine will be operating 24 daily flights from three airlines. The announcement came as part of a fourth-quarter earnings statement from the company.

"...as a complement to our more than forty flights a day to 15 cities nonstop from Seattle-Tacoma International Airport, today we announce our commitment to launch up to five daily flights at a new commercial aircraft facility at Paine Field in Everett, Washington, scheduled to be completed later this year."

The number of flights is twice as many as originally expected, the Seattle Times reported. Southwest will fly 737s out of Everett, larger than the regional planes United and Alaska plan on using.

Alaska recently released a list of the eight West Coast cities it will fly to from Paine Field. Southwest will release a list of its destinations in the spring.

Paine Field will offer an alternative to Sea-Tac airport for north Puget Sound residents. A trip from Edmonds or Shoreline to Sea-Tac is more than 30 miles, while Paine Field is about 11 miles north of Edmonds.

AP Photo/Wilfredo Lee, File