What John Wayne (SNA) is to LAX, Paine Field (PAE) is to SEA…read more
Maybe not the best comparison here, but for someone who has been to both pairs of airports with half of one pair in proximity with the other half, it's a fair enough proportional analogy where the airport sizes are commensurate to one another.
I live in Los Angeles County about the same distance between SNA and LAX, and hands down, I'd choose SNA over LAX because it's much less hassle to fly into and out of Orange County. Similarly, if I were to live in King County the same distance between PAE and SEA, I'd indubitably prefer the airport in Snohomish County instead. That is, unless my final destination or choice of airlines isn't associated with PAE.
Only two airlines operate at PAE: Alaska and Frontier. Flights out of PAE will end up in Denver, Las Vegas, Phoenix, or a city in California. Any other destination, you will need a connecting flight. Any other airline, you will have to choose SeaTac instead. In my case, I was flying to SNA in Orange County, CA via Alaska Airlines.
After getting dropped off at the passenger terminal, I made my way inside where I was able to check in my bag at a kiosk and get a luggage tag, which I secured around the handle of my bag, After dropping off my bag, I made my way to the TSA Security Checkpoint, where there was not a single customer in line. The security agent was in a very bubbly mood, even this early in the morning, trying to perk me up as I was still trying to wake up for my morning flight, so I do appreciate how upbeat she was to me!
And I also appreciate how there was no line to get through security either! It's almost like nobody else in Puget Sound even knows about this airport that you almost wonder if you're even allowed to fly out of there. I flew out of SNA at an even earlier time, and I still had to wait a few minutes in line to get through security; my groupmates on this trip mentioned an even longer line at the TSA security checkpoint they went through at SNA. Hopefully they won't read this review; otherwise, they might be jealous of how I always found the shortest lines through security lol.
I did joke to the bubbly TSA agent that I was still trying to wake up and could use some coffee; she mentioned there was coffee in the secure area. It's all the way at the left corner near Gate 1: Beecher's Handmade Cheese, which supposedly boasts the world's best mac & cheese. Hmm, can't be too certain about that. There's also a bar called Upper Case Bar, which is closer to Gates 2A/2B. Those are literally the only options for eats and drinks at this airport. If you don't like either, I'd recommend doing what I did: pack a couple of granola bars in your carry-on before boarding your plane, where the flight attendants will serve you refreshments, which include coffee.
There are only three gates at this airport: Gate 1, Gate 2A, and Gate 2B. Initially, my flight was assigned to Gate 2B, which would have necessitated going outside before entering the plane. It was raining pretty hard that morning, and to make matters worse, my flight was delayed by almost two hours due to maintenance issues. Luckily, the flight got re-assigned to Gate 2A, which had a jet bridge, meaning that we didn't have to go outside to board the plane. Great news! I think the reason for the lack of a jet bridge at Gate 2B is because of how close it is to Gate 2A. However, if it rains a lot in that area, maybe consider a makeshift jet bridge on concrete so that passengers won't have to worry about getting wet before boarding the plane?
Before the gate change announcement, we were told that they could provide umbrellas for us to borrow while walking to the plane, but there was only a limited number. I was almost afraid I'd have to use my own umbrella, which was in my backpack, and then place my wet umbrella back in my backpack during the flight.
I really appreciated the awning at the dropoff location because, like I previously said, it was raining pretty hard during the early morning of my flight. I thought I was going to get a little wet at least before going inside the airport, but nope! However, since Paine Field is pretty large, I wouldn't recommend totally relying on GPS because it may take you to a different part of Paine Field. You might end up spending more time trying to find the airport than waiting inside the airport for your flight!
I visited Everett, WA back in 2017, and while Paine Field had existed back then, the Passenger Terminal didn't until two years later. My only option then was to fly into SeaTac and then make the hour-long drive to Everett. Had my visit to Everett happened after that or if the Passenger Terminal had opened at least three years earlier, I easily could have flown in there instead.
TL;DR: If you live closer to Everett, definitely consider flying out of PAE over SEA! Much less hassle and foot traffic here, but also make sure you know beforehand where in PAE the passenger terminal is.
