Passenger service returning to Moses Lake next year

MOSES LAKE — For the first time since 2010, people will have the opportunity to fly out of Grant County International Airport through a new commercial air service.

SeaPort Airlines and the Port of Moses Lake announced recently that the airline is expanding to add daily flights connecting Moses Lake to the Seattle-Tacoma International Airport (Sea-Tac) and Portland International Airport.

“With our focus on serving smaller communities, we believe SeaPort is a great match for Moses Lake,” SeaPort President and CEO Rob McKinney said. “We’re looking forward to working with this community, as well as staff at Sea-Tac, to successfully restore this needed air service.”

In Moses Lake, SeaPort is expected to offer three round-trip flights to Sea-Tac each weekday, in addition to one round-trip to Portland.

Reduced flight frequencies will be offered on weekends, according to SeaPort.

For all of its flights, SeaPort airlines uses Cessna Caravan turboprop aircraft that seat nine passengers. The travel time between Moses Lake and Seattle will be about an hour and a half.

Tickets will become available for purchase starting Nov. 15. The airline will offer an introductory fare of $59 each way for flights from Moses Lake to Seattle and Portland.

The introductory fare tickets can be purchased through Feb. 15, 2016. They will be valid for travel between March 1 and April 14 next year.

Customers who fly to Sea-Tac from Moses Lake will have the ability to connect with SeaPort’s interline partners, which are Alaska Airlines and Hawaiian Airlines. The interline partnership affords customers the convenience of single-ticket itineraries and baggage transfer between flights, according to SeaPort.

Richard Hanover, the Port of Moses Lake’s director of business development, said the size of SeaPort’s service matches what the port was seeking in a commercial air service for Moses Lake.

Hanover said the air service offered by SeaPort is a sustainable model for Moses Lake. He anticipates the three daily flights between Moses Lake and Sea-Tac may not be enough. If that were the case, it would be SeaPort’s decision whether or not to expand.

Hanover believes the new flight service will be of great benefit for business people and others making trips to Seattle and Portland. Both airports have public transportation options that can take travelers directly to their respective downtown districts, negating the need to rent a car.

“It’s all about convenience and it’s all about price, and we know that,” Hanover said.