PORT ANGELES — Port commissioners officially have accepted a federal grant of $360,000 to help bolster commercial passenger air service to Seattle.
The grant will be used to market and promote Kenmore Air Express, the commercial airline offering scheduled flights from Clallam County to Seattle’s Boeing Field.
The grant was accepted unanimously by the port commissioners at their Monday meeting.
“Right now Kenmore is running at about 65 percent capacity,” said Doug Sandau, port airports and marinas manager.
“But really the comfort threshold is more at about 75 percent.
“So we would really like to see them average at about there.”
Alaska Airlines link
Sandau also said at the meeting the long-toiled over interline agreement with Alaska Airlines and Kenmore had been completed, so customers will now be able to book flights nationwide through Alaska Airlines partners straight to and from Port Angeles without having to book the Kenmore flights separately.
“They finally were able to get all the computers to talk properly,” he said.
“We are now connected to pretty much everywhere because Alaska has many other interline agreements.”
The Small Community Air Service Grant was matched by $40,000 from the port, city of Port Angeles, city of Sequim and Clallam County.
An additional $82,000 of in-kind services have been promised from the public partners as well as Kenmore Air Express, Clallam County Economic Development Council, Forks Chamber of Commerce, Port Angeles Regional Chamber of Commerce, Sequim-Dungeness Valley Chamber of Commerce and the Olympic Peninsula Visitors Bureau.
The grant is one of 19 totaling $6.4 million this year under the U.S. Department of Transportation’s Small Community Air Service Development Program.
Kenmore Air provides the only regular flights between Boeing Field and Port Angeles with nine-passenger Cessna aircraft. A ground shuttle links passengers to Seattle-Tacoma International Airport.
In other business Monday:
• Commissioners unanimously approved $2,500 to sponsor the Olympic Logging Conference’s meet-and-greet session and a luncheon with port customers at the conference on April 28 in Victoria.
• Executive Director Jeff Robb told commissioners that he had approved a temporary extension of the contract with American Construction Co. of Tacoma, which is replacing the fender system at Terminal 3.
A subcontractor incorrectly drilled holes in the fender pile panels and needed two months to re-manufacture and ship the new panels — which will be provided at no cost to the port.
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Reporter Paige Dickerson can be reached at 360-417-3535 or at paige.dickerson@peninsuladailynews.com.
