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Side note: Anyone in the greater area north of Seattle, Paine Field is a breath of fresh air compared to SeaTac. Small airports rock if they fly direct to wher

Side note: Anyone in the greater area north of Seattle, Paine Field is a breath of fresh air compared to SeaTac. Small airports rock if they fly direct to where you want to go.

SkyPuncher 3y ago
I’ll take a layover out of a small airport. Security is sooooo much easier.
sophacles 3y ago
Depending on details they also can rock if they don't have direct flights. My local airport only has 2 direct flight destinations, both of which are major hubs. So almost all trips have a layover. We're located a 2-4 hour drive from 4 much larger airports. By the time you factor in our tiny airport never having a security wait and the 10 minute drive to get there, it takes a lot of layover time to match driving to a bigger city and arriving there 2 hours early. By the time you factor in gas, parking, etc - the price is about the same too (that is tickets cost more, but overall trip cost is equalish). Definitely worth it for everyone to look at though - just because the flight itself may be cheaper from a bigger airport doesn't mean the overall trip cost will be less, and the small airport experience is generally much nicer than the large airport one for ticketing and security.
ciscoriordan 3y ago
Cheap flights, expensive parking. Paine Field doesn’t have massive garages like SeaTac. I’ve taken the flight from the article and my airfare was lower than my parking costs for just a weekend trip. Ubers are expensive but only ~20% more than SeaTac with a Cap Hill starting point. All things considered, Paine Field is my first choice airport for the area.
- bruceb 3y ago
  SeaTac can go directly from Capitol Hill via the rail and not worry about traffic. Can't do that with Paine Field.
  - darknavi 3y ago
    Light rail is a huge boon for SeaTac, that's for sure. Security and the whole "get to the gate" process is just so easy at Paine Field that it's hard to go back if your flight works out there. No lounges is a downside though.
- erikerikson 3y ago
  There's a bus from the free park and ride. It's quick and easy, especially with an Orca card. There's a little bit of walk from the bus station but you're about to sit for a bunch of time so it's probably a bonus.

Side note: Anyone in the greater area north of Seattle, Paine Field is a breath of fresh air compared to SeaTac. Small airports rock if they fly direct to where you want to go.

SkyPuncher 3y ago

I’ll take a layover out of a small airport. Security is sooooo much easier.

sophacles 3y ago

Depending on details they also can rock if they don't have direct flights. My local airport only has 2 direct flight destinations, both of which are major hubs. So almost all trips have a layover. We're located a 2-4 hour drive from 4 much larger airports. By the time you factor in our tiny airport never having a security wait and the 10 minute drive to get there, it takes a lot of layover time to match driving to a bigger city and arriving there 2 hours early. By the time you factor in gas, parking, etc - the price is about the same too (that is tickets cost more, but overall trip cost is equalish). Definitely worth it for everyone to look at though - just because the flight itself may be cheaper from a bigger airport doesn't mean the overall trip cost will be less, and the small airport experience is generally much nicer than the large airport one for ticketing and security.

ciscoriordan 3y ago

Cheap flights, expensive parking. Paine Field doesn’t have massive garages like SeaTac. I’ve taken the flight from the article and my airfare was lower than my parking costs for just a weekend trip. Ubers are expensive but only ~20% more than SeaTac with a Cap Hill starting point. All things considered, Paine Field is my first choice airport for the area.

bruceb 3y ago
SeaTac can go directly from Capitol Hill via the rail and not worry about traffic. Can't do that with Paine Field.
- darknavi 3y ago
  Light rail is a huge boon for SeaTac, that's for sure. Security and the whole "get to the gate" process is just so easy at Paine Field that it's hard to go back if your flight works out there. No lounges is a downside though.
erikerikson 3y ago
There's a bus from the free park and ride. It's quick and easy, especially with an Orca card. There's a little bit of walk from the bus station but you're about to sit for a bunch of time so it's probably a bonus.