Tri-Cities travelers could head to the beach or connect to Paris with new LAX flights
Tri-Citians are getting a second chance to show airlines they can support daily air service to Los Angeles International Airport.
Alaska Airlines debuted a new daily flight between the Tri-Cities Airport and LAX on Oct. 1. The 76-seat Embraer 175 carried 48 passengers plus crew and departed shortly after sunrise.
Alaska, which operates the flight under its Horizon subsidiary, steps into the breach left by United Airlines, which briefly offered Los Angeles service in 2019-20.
Buck Taft, the airport’s manager, and Karl Dye, president of the Tri-Cities Development Council (TRIDEC) were thrilled when efforts to revive the connection paid off.
LA is the most underserved market with about 200 local travelers heading there each day, Taft said.
Alaska is a major partner for the Tri-Cities airport operating several flights, including regular Seattle service. The first flight to LAX took off with empty seats, but Taft said bookings for the rest of the week were promising.
Avelo Airlines, which serves the Hollywood Burbank Airport, has built demand for air connections to the LA area.
70+ international connections
LAX is an important hub that links travelers to the larger world with more than 70 domestic and international airlines offering service to foreign destinations.
Betty Hinckley, a retired Kennewick elementary school teacher, and her husband, Jim, booked seats on the inaugural flight after their daughter spotted the new connection. The couple live in the Mexican resort city of Cabo San Lucas but travel home for extended family visits.
Hinckley was thrilled to tap into seamless connections between LAX and Mexico. The couple used to travel through Seattle or Salt Lake City, with hours-long layovers between flights.
“We’ll be in Cabo at 2:17.,” she said with a smile.
Dye, of TRIDEC, said service to LAX boosts the Tri-Cities to prospective businesses who depend on air travel. An undisclosed economic development prospect is “very interested” in the new route.
Targeting the Top 50
LAX is the fourth busiest airport in the U.S., according to 2023 passenger figures compiled by the U.S. Department of Transportation.
With the new connection, Tri-Citians can now book flights directly to seven of the Top 50 airports in the U.S.
The others are Denver (No. 3), Las Vegas (No. 8), Seattle-Tacoma (No. 11), San Francisco (No. 13), Phoenix Sky Harbor (No. 14), Minneapolis-St. Paul (No. 18). It also offers direct flights to regional airports in Los Angeles and Phoenix.
Taft and Dye both hope to at least three more, with Dallas/Fort Worth (No. 2) and Chicago O’Hare (No. 5) at the top of their wish list. They are working with American, building on its new Phoenix route.
A Chicago flight was booked prior to the pandemic. The flight never commenced before being shelved when the Federal Aviation Administration changed weight calculations, altering the types of aircraft needed for the route..
Portland International is also in the airport’s sights. It is the No. 33 airport in the U.S. for passenger travel.
Alaska halted daily service to Portland in 2018 amid wider cancellations blamed on its its high-profile pilot shortage. After a brief revival, the flight disappeared and the Tri-Cities has lacked a direct Rose City connection since.
‘We’re full’
Passenger growth and new flights have put the Tri-Cities Airport near its capacity. It has nine spots for planes to park at the terminal overnight.
Any additional planes have to be pushed away and the airport has to accommodate larger planes since some airlines have started flying Boeing 737 aircraft into the Mid-Columbia.
Taft said a major expansion is probably still about eight years out and will be timed to dovetail with paying off debt associated with a $42 million terminal expansion and remodel that debuted in 2017.
“We’re full,” he said.
The Tri-Cities airport recorded 302,348 passenger boardings for the year through August and is on track to break its 2019 passenger record of 438,123 by the end of the year.
The Tri-Cities Airport is owned and operated by the Port of Pasco.
Go to flytricities.com.
This story was originally published October 1, 2024 at 12:11 PM.