SeaPort Airlines — a regional carrier that went bankrupt in 2016 — will launch daily commuter flights between Seattle’s Boeing Field and Portland next week.
The flights, on a nine-seat Pilatus PC-12 aircraft, will take off every 45 minutes. CEO Kent Craford called the airline a “conveyor belt in the sky. … It’s going to be a life-changing service for people that travel between Seattle and Portland on a regular basis.”
And…
Prices for the Seattle-to-Portland route, taking off Tuesday, will start at $558 round-trip.
Craford hopes he’s just getting started. One day, he wants SeaPort to offer travel between the Northwest’s two central cities every 15 minutes.
I’m sorry, $558 round-trip?! You can buy a walk-up first class ticket on Alaska or Delta for that much round-trip Portland to Seattle. Boeing Field is around six miles closer to downtown Seattle than SeaTac but is that worth a huge premium? Also, the CEO stating that he sees a future where flights will take place every 15 minutes, I just don’t get it.
These flights will be on Pilatus PC-12s with seating for nine passengers and will run like charters or private flights so there will be no TSA checkpoint to navigate at Boeing Field nor at PDX, it will operate out of the FBO or general aviation area of both airports. So there is some time savings but again, I question the premium being charged over commercial flights. Flights start Tuesday, May 20 and look to be operated by Air Excursions.
SeaPort PC-12 circa 2008 by Andrew W. Sieber
It does speak to some of the issues at SeaTac, including overcrowding and the difficulty of getting into downtown Seattle, even on public transit. I’ve seen some comments where people think this service should be from downtown Portland to downtown Seattle via a seaplane. I’d get behind that from an airplane nerd perspective but I think the technical issues with all of the bridges near downtown Portland make it unlikely.
Covid bankrupted the first incarnation of SeaPort, maybe this new version has better luck. Only time will tell.
At an event at the Brooklyn Navy Yard this past Tuesday, May 13, United Airlines announced a new version of their Polaris business class cabin for their Boeing 787s that they are calling “Elevated”. The new Elevated 787-9s will feature 64 business class suites with doors, 35 premium economy seats, and 123 economy seats. The old configuration of the 787-9 is 48 business class seats, 21 premium economy seats, and 188 economy seats. Eight of the new configuration’s business class seats, the bulkhead row in the front and rear business class cabins, will be dubbed “Polaris Studio” and feature more space, an ottoman for a guest to join you in the suite, champagne (Cuvee Rose) and a caviar service, and a special amenity kit, including a hooded sweatshirt pajama set. We don’t know what the exact upcharge will be for the Polaris Studio but in a survey that United sent out to frequent flyers in 2024 it was suggested that a surcharge of $300 to $650 on a $2500 business class ticket could be expected.
A few things stand out to me, the first being the sheer number of business class seats on these planes. 64 is a lot of premium seats and United will take possession of 100 787s with this configuration over the next few years. Sure, some of those will replace 777s and 767s but it’s still a lot of airplanes with a lot of expensive seats. The first routes announced for these planes will be San Francisco-Singapore and San Francisco-London. The Singapore route definitely has demand for business class but I am intrigued by London. I’m sure there is some demand but I am surprised there is enough premium demand to justify this new configuration on the route. I wouldn’t be surprised if, as United took delivery of more of these planes, we saw new longhaul routes open up or return, like Los Angeles-Singapore.
Another thing I noticed was that a lavatory was removed from the economy cabin and one was added to the business class cabins. I doubt premium economy customers will be allowed to use the business class lavatories so that will leave three lavatories for 158 passengers. On ultra long haul routes, like those to Singapore, that reduction in lavatories could lead to really unpleasant waits to use the restroom.
Current 787-9 Seat MapNew 787-9 High-J Configuration
One thing I didn’t mention about the Polaris Studio is that it comes with Global Services status for the day. A Polaris Studio passenger will be able to use the Global Services check-in desk, security, and pre-boarding, all nice perks when at busy airports. It’s also an area where I could see United falling short. The carrier has long struggled with soft product implementations and I don’t believe this product will be any different. Previously simple things like the sundae cart service would be completely inconsistent. The same is true for the offering of pajamas on ultra long hauls, sometimes flight attendants offer them, other times they can’t be bothered to find them when asked. The caviar service, the pajamas, etc. all take a bit more work for Polaris Studio. Done correctly, it could be a great feature. Done poorly and customers walk away disappointed or underwhelmed and unlikely to pay the premium for it again.
Champagne and caviar in Polaris Studio
Conclusion
Elevated Polaris looks like a great update to United’s business class product. The number of business class seats that they are installing on these planes is astonishing, especially when you consider they will have 100 of these planes by 2027. It’s a huge bet on the premium traffic market growing, or at least staying the same. Future markets I would expect to see these planes on: Houston-Sydney, Newark-Johannesburg, Newark-Cape Town, and Los Angeles-Sydney.
The implementation of the service for the eight Polaris Studio seats will be key in making the upsell successful. If United can’t get consistency in the service for those seats, I don’t see the concept being something that travelers will pay a premium for. United also hasn’t mentioned whether frequent flyers will be able to use PlusPoints, their currency for upgrades, for the Polaris Studio and what the premium would be. My guess is that United will debut the Polaris Studio with only a cash surcharge and see what the reception is like, then they will open it up to PlusPoints later.
Service flow and customer flow for things like lavatories are also open questions. 64 business class seats along with two extra rows of premium economy with a reduction in overall galley space means that service could be really slow. As you can see in the seatmaps above, the old configuration had two full galleys for 48 business class customers and 21 premium economy customers, the new configuration has 30 more people across both of those cabins being served by a smaller mid-cabin galley and the forward galley. The reduction in economy lavatories is also a little bit worrisome for passenger wait times.
Overall it’s neat to see United innovating and trying some new things. They are heavily invested in premium travel staying strong for at least the new few years and we’ll just have to wait and see if they made the right call.
From a recent post on BikePortland the Port of Portland is gearing up to start a project on Northeast Airport Way and Northeast 82nd Avenue that would create a flyover of the 82nd Avenue for the majority of traffic to the airport from I-205. The project will cost $100 million.
The whole idea of the project is to remove a conflict light at the intersection that causes the majority of traffic to stop to allow crossing traffic access the road. I understand the goal but I don’t know that this should be on the top of the priority list for the airport. For one, traveler numbers at PDX have still not returned to their pre-Covid levels; They’re getting closer to those numbers but it will probably be another six months before they are fully recovered. The other issue is that the terminal roadway, where passengers are dropped off and picked up are more of a nightmare than the intersection in question. If you are using the departures roadway on the upper level, just getting through to drop someone off can be a 30-minute ordeal. Pickups on the lower deck during the busiest times are extremely chaotic as well and take just as long.
The Port would be well served to spend some time and money to fix the actual terminal drop-off and pick-up issues before addressing a slowdown in traffic further away. They have a number of conflicts on both decks with pedestrians needing to cross multiple lanes of traffic to get to and from the terminal with only stop signs to slow down cars and those stop signs are frequently ignored.
Port of Portland could also work with TriMet to expand the number of public transportation options into the airport. Currently the MAX Red Line is the only option to the airport, serving Gateway Transit Center, the I-84 corridor and downtown. They have made service from downtown leave a bit earlier so you can catch the 6:30am departures but anything before that and you are cutting it close on the train. If you live any distance from the train outside of downtown then the only options are to take a bus and connect to the train which can 45 minutes or more to your journey. The airport and TriMet could focus on a few different areas of town and offer express type bus services from these areas and drop off right at the terminal similar to how the MAX drops off. Start it with regular buses and upgrade to ones made for luggage later if the ridership is big enough. There are large swaths of the city that want easy and frequent service to the airport and would absolutely not drive and park if they could avoid it. Where I live in the city my options are a nearly 1.5 hour bus and train commute, a $40 Lyft ride, or I drive myself and park. None of those are great options for an airport that is 8 miles from my house.
The overall passenger experience at pick-up and drop-off could be greatly improved if the Port of Portland spent time thinking about the overall transit options rather than focusing on a single intersection to invest $100M on. It really calls into question their goals and motivations.
Alaska Airlines is celebrating the addition of our newest global airline partner, Philippine Airlines, the flag carrier of the Philippines and the oldest operating commercial airline in Asia. With our new frequent flyer partnership, Alaska becomes Philippine Airlines’ first loyalty partner in North America, opening the door for our guests to book travel to exotic, once-in-a-lifetime destinations such as Palawan and Boracay in the Philippines.
In the coming months, our guests will be able to book flights on Philippine Airlines directly at alaskaair.com, earn Mileage Plan miles for their travel and redeem Mileage Plan miles for Philippine Airlines flights.
I have to hand it to Alaska Airlines for continuing to grow their partnership portfolio. Manila seems to be a quickly growing market, with United now offering two non-stops a day from San Francisco. What remains to be seen with this announced Alaska-Philippine partnership is whether or not onward flights will actually be sold via Alaska’s website. In my experience, the IT aspects of Alaska when booking partner flights on their website leaves a lot of be desired. For example, try to book something like Seattle-Frankfurt, a simple itinerary where Alaska could offer Seattle-London-Frankfurt or even Seattle-Helsinki-Frankfurt, but Alaska will only offer Seattle-Dublin-Frankfurt. Other itineraries are similar, all over the world.
This is particularly frustrating as Alaska promises even more miles on partners when booking through their website. If you book a partner on a partner’s website and credit to Alaska you receive fewer miles; A business class fare on British Airways purchased on ba.com earns only 125% elite miles on Alaska. If you were able to book the ticket on Alaska’s website, it would earn 250% elite miles.
It’s hard to know whether this is intentional or if it is just a lack of IT capabilities. My guess is that there is a huge backlog of technical functionality that needs to be looked at and changed as part of the merger with Hawaiian Airlines and this is taking priority over needs, including partner integration issues.
Another part of this announcement that I find intriguing is that Alaska is actively seeking partners even after the integration into oneworld. It speaks to the fact that the alliances don’t reach everywhere but such connectivity is needed. It might also hint at Philippine Airlines being interested in eventually joining oneworld, kind of like Starlux has hinted at.
In any case, I think this is great news for frequent travelers and we might see some great reward availability open up to southeast Asia so keep an eye out for that! What are your thoughts on the Alaska/Philippine Airlines partnership?
JetBlue Airways (JBLU.O), opens new tab and United Airlines (UAL.O), opens new tab have been negotiating a partnership, three industry sources familiar with the matter told Reuters.
The partnership with United is envisioned as quite different from the NEA, the sources said. While the alliance is expected to focus on providing greater connectivity to customers and allowing them to earn and burn frequent-flier miles, the two carriers will not coordinate on schedules and pricing, they added.
Another rumor, from Corriere, an Italian news outlet, is that United would receive 20 slots at JFK in the partnership.
United Airlines, one of the largest carriers in the world and a longtime ally of Lufthansa (soon also of ITA Airways), is turning its attention to low-cost carrier JetBlue in an attempt to challenge Delta Air Lines at one of its key hubs: New York’s JFK Airport. The Chicago-based airline — which currently operates from Newark, across the Hudson River in New Jersey — is exploring various options ranging from a commercial alliance to a full acquisition. United wants to return to JFK operations as soon as possible by taking over 20 slot pairs (allowing for 40 daily flights, between arrivals and departures) and access to 2 boarding gates from JetBlue. This is according to four U.S. sources familiar with the internal talks, speaking to Corriere.
With 20 slots at JFK, United would certainly look to bring back service to San Francisco and Los Angeles. Back in 2022, United CEO Scott Kirby told Bloomberg as much.
“Well certainly the place that we, whether it’s through JetBlue or somewhere else, we would like to get back into JFK in a big way, particularly in the transcon market. So getting enough slots at JFK that we can get back to serving San Francisco and Los Angeles, particularly for business customers, and having another real option for business customers in those markets that would be our number one priority.”
If these rumors are true and a partnership between JetBlue and United is really coming, it will definitely shake things up at JFK and could present some interesting frequent flyer opportunities. Since none of the rumors state a timeline for the partnership, we will have to wait and see for this to all fall into place.
