Commercial air service begins Thursday

MOSES LAKE — Commercial air service is returning to the Grant County International Airport on Thursday, which is one day earlier than expected because of aircraft rotations.

Flights will be available twice a day from Moses Lake to Seattle from United Express/SkyWest Airlines.

The Thursday schedule is as follows: flight departs Seattle at noon and arrives in Moses Lake at 12:52 p.m., flight departs Moses Lake at 3 p.m. and arrives in Seattle at 3:50 p.m. and flight departs Seattle at 9:05 p.m. and arrives in Moses Lake at 9:57 p.m., according to the Port of Moses Lake.

Starting Friday, the difference is a 6 a.m. flight departing Moses Lake and arriving in Seattle at 6:50 a.m., stated Craig Baldwin, the port’s executive manager.

Commercial air service halted in Grant County about two years ago after a federal air service subsidy was discontinued.

Since then, area residents needing a flight drove to other airports in the state.

“In some cases, travelers have to add an extra day to their trip so that they can drive to and from an airport that is over 100 miles away,” stated Baldwin. “This new service will ?eliminate that and allow travelers to save both time and money by flying locally.”

Remodeling work is being completed at the terminal this week.

“Everything is on track to be in place by the time the first flight departs,” Baldwin commented. “Everyone has been extremely busy getting things ready for all the travelers that will be coming in an out of the terminal.”

Employees are doing extensive training behind the gate and at the ramp, said Marissa Snow, a SkyWest spokesperson. They have trained for a couple of months.

Among the approximately 11 employees hired in Moses Lake, between two to three employees are SkyWest veterans and the rest are local employees, she explained.

Moses Lake Station Manager Will Jefferies is also a SkyWest veteran, she said.

Snow claimed the best ticket fares will always be found at www.united.com because of the ease and convenience of making reservations online.

Ticket prices can also be found on an array of Web sites, including www.igougo.com, where prices comparisons can be done through the following companies: Orbitz, Hotwire, Travelocity, Kayak, CheapTickets, Cheapo, SideStep, Priceline, Expedia, Farecrawler, AA, Airfare and HawaiianAir.

Also, for more information, go to www.iflymoseslake.com.

At the Grant County International Airport, ticket counter hours will be solidified when the service starts Thursday, she said.

Advantages to flying locally include free parking at the airport, quick check-in and screening times and a schedule that offers 330 connecting flights to 85 worldwide destinations, according to Baldwin.