SeaPort eyes Coeur d'Alene travelers with faster Seattle flights

SeaPort Airlines is betting that Coeur d’Alene and the rest of North Idaho have enough repeat Seattle travelers to support a new kind of air commute, one built around Felts Field in Spokane instead of Sea-Tac. The airline launched its Spokane-Seattle service on March 9, with four round trips a day between Spokane’s Felts Field and Boeing Field in Seattle, and it is aiming the pitch squarely at business travelers, weekend flyers and people who make the Seattle trip often enough to value speed over a big-airport experience.

For Kootenai County residents, the appeal is obvious: Coeur d’Alene to Seattle is a little more than 300 miles by car, a drive that can turn a same-day business meeting or a quick sports trip into a long day on the road. SeaPort says its Pilatus PC-12 turboprop is designed to change that calculation. The nine-passenger aircraft operates from small business aviation terminals, where passengers can arrive about 20 minutes before departure, park close to the counter and walk straight to the plane. SeaPort says that setup avoids the security lines, terminal crowds and delays that often define commercial flying at Sea-Tac.

Kent Craford, SeaPort’s chief executive, has said the model is meant to make short regional trips feel simpler, faster and less stressful than the traditional major-airline routine. SeaPort’s return to the Pacific Northwest came in 2025 under a new leadership team after the previous company closed in 2016, and the airline is part of Kalinin Holdings, the Juneau, Alaska-based family business that also includes Alaska Seaplanes and Island Air Express.

The Spokane route builds on SeaPort’s earlier success flying Boeing Field to Portland International Airport, where the company had up to 16 flights a day. The Spokane service is smaller, with two morning and two evening round trips, but it is being promoted as a commuter option for people who need predictability more than a full-size hub. SeaPort’s materials say the PC-12 falls outside TSA jurisdiction, a selling point for travelers trying to shave time off each end of the trip.

SeaPort is entering a regional market that already shows strong demand. Spokane International Airport reported a record 4,350,330 passengers in 2025, along with 60,153 tons of cargo, and says it has seven major airlines, three cargo carriers and more than 3,000 employees. That traffic underscores both the strength of the Seattle-Spokane corridor and the challenge SeaPort faces in convincing North Idaho travelers to break habits built around bigger airports and established schedules. The airline’s wager is that for some Coeur d’Alene flyers, a short hop through Spokane will be easier to use than a full day built around Sea-Tac.