Spokane International Airport (GEG) is the Washington State city of Spokane’s primary commercial airport, with flights to 17 destinations in the United States. Like the city’s two other airports, Spokane International Airport has been both a sizable contributor to Spokane’s prosperity and to aviation history. So let’s do a general overview of the airport.
Spokane International Airport contributing to a city of aviation history
One of Spokane’s claims to fame is being the city where Nick Mamer and Art Walker completed the first nonstop, roundtrip, transcontinental flight using aerial refueling. But this trip started from Felts Field, a general aviation airport in eastern Spokane, in the Buhl Airsedan sesquiplane named “Spokane Sun-God,” which flew to San Francisco, then on to New York, and back to Spokane.
Yet, in 1938, while Spokane County Engineer Clarence Griggs said Felts Field would remain an Air National Guard, flight training, and general aviation field – the 2023 Felts Field only remains a home for flight training, general aviation, and in the case of Historic Flight Foundation, a flying museum.
Today, Spokane has a third airport for the US Air Force’s Washington Air National Guard full of Boeing KC-135 Stratotankers – a Boeing 707 derivative – to conduct aerial refueling and resupply flights, separate from what became Sunset Airport that Gen. Hap Arnold activated on March 1, 1942. After World War 2, Sunset Airport became Geiger Field and was transferred to Spokane in 1948 with the responsibility to operate the airport and the right to charge fees. Today, Spokane International Airport has arisen from Geiger Field and thrives on user fees and leases with no support from the general taxpayer.
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By 1960, the world’s first commercial jets and annual demand of 270,000 passengers outgrew the modest initial facilities. This led to a new control tower, airlines migrating from Felts Field to Spokane International Airport, and Air Canada flying to Calgary, Alberta. 5 years later, a new terminal was built – all by savings, federal funds, and user fees. But the Cold War meant that the airport would be home to F-102 and F-106 air defense fighters, as pictured below:
Photo: US Air Force via fortwiki.com
But eventually, the Cold War would end, and other needs for the airfield arose - like aerial firefighting and higher passenger capacity. An expansion to the 1960s terminal was initially built in 2000 with nine gates; three gates above with jet bridges, and the others below service at ground level.
Finally, as previously covered by Simple Flying, Spokane International Airport’s latest aviation historical milestone is serving as the departure airport of the last revenue flight of the de Haviland of Canada Dash 8-400 turboprop for Horizon Air on January 26, 2023, from the lower levels of Concourse C. This will not be the end of aviation history at Spokane by any means.
Spokane International Airport statistics
Photo: Joe Kunzler | Simple Flying
First, Spokane International Airport has two intersecting runways:
- Runway 3/21: 11,002 ft × 150 ft (3,353 m × 46 m), asphalt/concrete
- Runway 8/26: 8,199 ft × 150 ft (2,499 m × 46 m), asphalt
Those runways serve passenger traffic from three concourses with 32 gates, bus stops, and two parking garages. There are ongoing efforts to expand starting on October 20, 2022, by adding three new gates, six airline ticket counter locations, and more to Concourse C. These enhancements include Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) improvements and replacing ground loading gates - that harken back to the Dash 8-400/Q400 era - with three jetbridges for Alaska Airlines & Horizon Air (more appropriate for Horizon Air’s E175s of today) as pictured below:
According to the Spokesman-Review that day – Board Chair Nancy Vorhees said;
As the Spokane region continues to grow, the need to have a terminal facility to handle increasing demand is paramount. The extra capacity will also benefit the airport’s air service efforts by offering opportunities to both potential and current airline partners to add existing service or expand nonstop service to new destinations.
Hence there is a need to review Spokane International Airport’s performance statistics, if for no other reason than to check rhetoric with reality.
In April 2023, according to Cirium, Spokane International Airport has 3,336 scheduled flights between six airlines: Alaska Airlines, Allegiant Airlines, American Airlines, Delta Air Lines, Southwest Airlines plus United Airlines – and seven if you separate Horizon Air, Alaska Airlines’ regional subsidiary. A December 29, 2022 map from the airport below shows where the six airlines service:
Graphic: Spokane International Airport
According to USDOT Bureau of Transportation Statistics, the largest destination by passenger volume is Seattle, which has mostly Horizon Air and some Delta Air Lines connections. Denver, Salt Lake City, Las Vegas, and Minneapolis follow Seattle as Spokane International Airport destinations. Meanwhile, flights are 84% on time for departures and 80% for arrivals in 2023, with only 1.36% cancellations. Delays usually are around 60 minutes for both departures and arrivals.
Photo: Joe Kunzler | Simple Flying
Passenger volume overall is returning from the 2020-2021 COVID-19 pandemic-induced reductions in air travel. In 2019, a record year, Spokane International Airport had 3,881,000 passengers. In 2022, the airport welcomed 3,799,000 passengers thru its gates. It’s worth noting some of the slight declines are due to reduced capacity from Horizon Air, which led to 956,000 in 2019 sliding down to 648,000 in 2022. In fact, some Horizon Air flights have been picked up by the mainline with Boeing 737s. Meanwhile, concerning traffic and 737s, 737-only carrier Southwest Airlines has gone from 908,000 in 2019 to 927,000 in 2022.
Photo: Joe Kunzler | Simple Flying
In the February 2022 – January 2023 time frame, Southwest Airlines took 24.44% of the passengers while Horizon Air took 16.74%. Delta Air Lines was third at 630,000 and 16.36%, with Alaska Airlines at fourth with 551,000 and 14.31%. However, taking the Alaska Air Group as Alaska Airlines and Horizon Air together creates a combined haul of 1,195,000 passengers and a 31.05% share, making Alaska Air Group the leading airline serving Spokane.
Also, according to Cirium, potential spotters can expect to see aircraft from the E175 and CRJ-700 to the Airbus A220 and A320 families, to Boeing’s 737 Next Generation family with 737 MAX 8 spiced in. The best place to watch aircraft flight operations in the terminal is in Concourse C, but the parking garage has good views for the public.
Governance and Economics
Spokane International Airport is governed by a seven-member board that includes one Spokane County commissioner and one Spokane City Council member, with the others being city community leaders. The Board also oversees Felts Field Airport and a business park.
All three facilities operate with self-generated revenue, such as a passenger facility charge and an airport improvement program fee and leases. In return, Washington State’s second largest international airport, after Seattle-Tacoma International Airport, employs over 3,000 and brings over $3,000,000,000 in value back to the local economy. Considering Spokane International Airport brought in over 3,799,000 passengers in 2022, this is no surprise.
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Have you flown out of or into Spokane International Airport? What are your impressions? Feel free to share with civility in the comment section.
Source: Spokesman-Review
