Nov. 7—"Wanna Get Away?" is now officially a thing at the Bellingham International Airport.
Southwest Airlines began operations at the local airport on Sunday, Nov. 7, with a flight coming in from Oakland, California. After some celebratory events including a water cannon salute, the plane made a quick turnaround and took off with passengers headed to Las Vegas.
The airline is kicking off service from Bellingham with three flights a day to either Oakland or Las Vegas using 143-seat Boeing 737-700 jets. If those flights are successful, Southwest will consider adding flights to other destinations, including possibly Denver, said Andrew Watterson, chief commercial officer for the airline.
" Bellingham is a place we've looked at over the years, but never could seem to get here," Watterson said in an interview Sunday. He noted the economic fundamentals, particularly with inbound and outbound leisure travel, was an important factor in entering this market.
While other destinations would certainly be under consideration if Southwest is successful, Watterson said Denver, in particular, seems like a good match because they've found Colorado residents to be big fans of outdoor recreation and Bellingham would offer a new place to explore.
Watterson also addressed the workforce issues that have impacted Southwest and other airlines, resulting in flight cancellations across the U.S. last month. He said they've pulled back on some of the expansion the company did last spring, allowing them to focus on hiring and training.
"We're in a good spot now," Watterson said.
Landing this kind of daily service has been a longtime goal for the airport, said Sunil Harman, the Port of Bellingham's aviation director. The timing is also almost perfect as travel restrictions start to ease during the COVID-19 pandemic: Restrictions to non-essential travel at the border is scheduled to be lifted on Monday, Nov. 8, which means British Columbia residents can take advantage of Southwest's low fares to fly out of Bellingham.
"COVID is still a challenge, but this is a big step for the overall economy," Harman said. "We're ecstatic that Southwest is here."
Kicking off flights in new markets is a celebratory event for Southwest, with giveaways, speeches and visits from local officials. It's become an event for Tim Klan, his wife Holly and their son Mark, who were on the first flight to Bellingham. For the past 12 years, Tim and Holly have attended 40 new city openings. Obviously big fans of Southwest, the family is from Erie, Pennsylvania.
" Southwest always has a party with these events and it's something we enjoy," Holly Klan said, adding that part of their motivation is seeing different parts of the country.
For this trip they had planned to meet with some friends from Vancouver, B.C., in Bellingham., but were unable to because of the border restrictions. They plan on returning to meet with them as well as check out some of the sites around the area.
The arrival of Southwest comes at a key time as the Bellingham airport attempts to recapture activity not only lost from the pandemic but from the service expansions of nearby airports, including Paine Field in Everett. Through September 103,984 people have flown out of the Bellingham airport, which is better than last year (80,809 passengers), but well behind the pre-pandemic levels of 2019 (265,412 passengers).
The Port of Bellingham estimates that the three daily flights by Southwest will add 10,439 passengers a month to the number of people flying out of the Bellingham airport. That would nearly double the current monthly passenger activity, which was 13,564 in September with Alaska and Allegiant flights.
Tickets are available now only at Southwest.com. Southwest joins Alaska Airlines and Allegiant Air at the Bellingham airport. Alaska flies daily to Seattle, while Allegiant offers nonstop service to Las Vegas, Nevada; Los Angeles, Oakland, Palm Springs and San Diego, California; and Phoenix (Mesa), Arizona.
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