County Rejects Move Proposals, GA Pilots Relieved

At a news conference Tuesday morning, King County (WA) Executive Ron Sims closed the door on the plans of two commercial air carriers that wanted to begin flying out of King County International Airport, more commonly known as Boeing Field.

"I am forced to reject both the Alaska and Southwest proposal," Sims said, according to Seattle's KING5 TV. Sims cited potential litigation, noise, and traffic as reasons for his decision.

The declaration put an end to Southwest's bid to move its operations from larger Seattle-Tacoma International to the smaller downtown-area airport, that is also home to Boeing's 737 test program facility.

The move allows general aviation and business pilots who now use Boeing Field to breathe a sigh of relief. Many had feared expanded commercial airline operations at the airport would have forced out existing GA traffic.

Since 1976, the airport has operated under an FAA exemption granting use of both its parallel runways for simultaneous operations, although the runway centerlines are only 375-feet apart. Current FAA guidelines call for a minimum 700-ft distance, and the exception was only granted to Boeing Field under the pretense of there being relatively few large jets using the airport.

"Regular air carrier traffic is not anticipated," at Boeing Field, according to the 1976 exemption ruling entitled "Documentation of Deviation from Design Standards." A separate FAA memo from the time also stated "discontinuation of the procedure [involving parallel runways] could severely reduce the operational capacity of the airport."

According to opponents of the Southwest move, the presence of large jets operating on a regular basis from Boeing Field would have voided the exemption, forcing the closure of the shorter runway currently used by smaller aircraft.

Alaska Airlines, which along with American Airlines, initially opposed the Southwest move, later submitted its own proposal in anticipation of having to compete with the Dallas, TX-based LLC at Boeing. Both carriers' proposals called for construction of a new terminal and facilities at Boeing Field, at the expense of current general aviation areas.

Many have drawn parallels between the debate over Seattle's airports and Southwest's ongoing North Texas battle over expanding operations out of its home-airport, Dallas Love Field. The carrier has engaged rival American Airlines there, too, pressing for expanded service out of the smaller (and less expensive) airport instead of competing directly with American at DFW International.

FMI: www.swa.com, www.alaskaair.com, www.friendsofboeingfield.org