Grounded 737 Max won’t stop launch of Tri-Cities flights to LAX

The grounding of the Boeing 737 Max-8 and Max-9 fleets won’t affect the this month’s launch of daily flight service between Pasco and Los Angeles International Airport by United Airlines.

While United has 14 of the Max-9 planes in its fleet, it intends to use a 76-seat Embraer 175 aircraft to connect Pasco to LAX starting March 31.

Buck Taft, manager of the Tri-Cities Airport in Pasco, said the airline isn’t expected to alter its Pasco plans as it reassigns airplanes.

The Pasco-bound flight will leave LAX at 12:45 p.m. daily. It will depart the Tri-Cities at 4:17 p.m.

The port and its economic development partners pursued a daily Los Angeles flight for years, saying LA-bound business travelers were underserved at their home airport.

It will celebrate the new service on April 1.

A round trip flight in April costs $237, according to an Expedia search.

Allegiant Air also serves Los Angeles, but operates seasonally with a focus on leisure travelers.

This story was originally published March 14, 2019 at 12:34 PM.