Boeing Field, not yet dead on arrival

Southwest Airlines' proposal to move from Sea-Tac to Boeing Field is worth serious questions and serious consideration. It comes with problems, but there is no reason to kill it on arrival.

Boeing Field was Seattle's principal airport in the 1940s. It has a 10,000-foot runway, long enough for Air Force One — and easily long enough for Southwest's Boeing 737s. Boeing Field is similar to the smaller airports Southwest likes to use, like Chicago's Midway and Dallas' Love Field. By flying out of these, Southwest limits its market to passengers who don't want to connect to other airlines — and helps keep its average fare to $90.

The opposition to Southwest's proposal is led by its competitors: the Port of Seattle, which owns Sea-Tac, and by Alaska Air Group, which also owns Horizon.

Southwest's move does not threaten them mortally — Southwest carries less than 8 percent of the passengers at Sea-Tac — but it does present each with a competitive problem. Sea-Tac would have to slow down its spending plans, and perhaps also its connection to light rail. Alaska would have to decide whether to match Southwest's investment at Boeing Field.

That's business. Competition is usually a good thing, and the Port of Seattle is not exempt from it just because it is owned by taxpayers. Nor should Southwest's offer be dismissed because of decisions years ago by regional planners. Opportunities have to be evaluated as they arise.

Southwest's proposal to use $130 million of its own money to build a proprietary eight-gate terminal and a seven-story parking garage makes this look like a net gain to the region. Certainly, it needs to be examined to see what true public costs it might entail.

The Federal Aviation Administration also needs to study the safety impact of adding 60 to 90 flights a day to Boeing Field, and King County needs to study the noise impact on neighborhoods, which Southwest CEO Gary Kelly admitted is an "open question."

It is far too early to sign off on this proposal, and King County Executive Ron Sims is not suggesting such a thing. He is suggesting that it be treated seriously.

The traveling public, which might benefit from discount air service at Boeing Field, deserves that much.