PORT ANGELES — A wing and a prayer couldn’t keep San Juan Airlines in the air when what it needed was more passengers.
San Juan’s cessation of service Saturday between Fairchild International Airport in Port Angeles and Boeing Field in Seattle was a matter of market size, Jeff Robb said.
Robb is the Port of Port Angeles airports director.
The move left Kenmore Air Express as the only service between Port Angeles and Seattle.
Between the two airlines, 11 round trips between William R. Fairchild International Airport in Port Angeles and Boeing were flown daily.
A Kenmore spokesman said Saturday that the remaining airline will retool the schedule to seven round trips effective midweek.
The $59 one-way fare will remain, at least for now, the spokesman said.
Port expected withdrawal
The move might have surprised some San Juan passengers, but it didn’t take the Port unawares.
“We knew that it was in process,” Robb said Sunday.
“It’s kind of rough to support two commercial operators in a market of our size.”
Robb said the Port will lose revenue with the loss of San Juan operations, but declined to estimate how much.
San Juan Airlines provided six daily round trips between Port Angeles and Seattle. Kenmore offered five round-trip flights.
Kenmore, in buying out San Juan’s operations, said it will service both airlines’ schedules, then offer its own seven round trips each day starting Wednesday.
Flights will leave Port Angeles for Boeing Field at 6 a.m., 8 a.m., 10 a.m., 12:30 p.m., 2:30 p.m., 5 p.m., and 7 p.m. each day.
Flights will leave Boeing Field for Port Angeles at 7 a.m., 9 a.m., 11:30 a.m., 1:30 p.m., 3:30 p.m., 6 p.m., and 9 p.m.
Kenmore Air will honor existing San Juan tickets, and Kenmore will retain San Juan’s fares: $59 one way, $110 round trip, including ground shuttle service between Boeing Field and Seattle-Tacoma International Airport.