PORT TOWNSEND — The owners of Port Townsend Aircraft Services have launched an air charter service that will fly up to three passengers from Jefferson County International Airport to a Boeing Field connection with Seattle-Tacoma International Airport.
B.J. and Jodi Hallinan’s PT Air now offers flights to destinations as far away as Portland and Spokane.
Port Townsend Aircraft Service, which is Jefferson County International Airport’s fixed based operator offering airplane maintenance and a pilot’s lounge, started the charter service about a month ago, shortly after Goodwin Aviation shut down its service, which it had operated for five years, in July.
Goodwin Aviation owner and pilot Steve Goodwin said on his Web site, www.goodwinaviation.com/, that he ceased operation for personal reasons.
“It is with great anticipation however, that I begin a new chapter in life that centers around the care and upbringing of my infant daughter, Emma, with my wife, Laura,” Goodwin said.
His air carrier certificate issued by the Federal Aviation Administration “is quite valuable and I will therefore maintain the ability to restart service at a later date if I desire,” he added.
B.J. Hallinan said it was only coincidental that one service closed and another one started up.
He said since they opened Port Townsend Aircraft Service three years ago, the Hallinans had planned to add charters to their services that include flight lessons.
“This was part of the plan,” Hallinan said, “to grow in small steps.”
PT Air’s Cessna 172 M model is flown by pilot Fred Harris. The Hallinans, with help from their four children, operate Port Townsend Aircraft Services as a family business.
“We fly anywhere in the region to any airport with public access,” he said.
So far, the bulk of their charter flights have been to Boeing Field and the San Juan Islands.
It took about six months to obtain air carrier certification from the FAA’s Renton office, he said.
Hallinan, an aviation mechanic for 25 years who cannot fly because he has epilepsy, rebuilt the plane’s engine and installed a new propellar before the service began in July.
“We’ve had several sightseeing flights and flights for real estate photography,” he said. “It’s on demand, so you get to pick your departure time.”
He urges those flying PT Air to the Seatac-Boeing Field connection to leave Jefferson County International Airport three hours before their flight.
One-way flights range in price from $125, for such destinations as Oak Harbor or Sequim, to $860 to Spokane. Prices are based on the cost of operating the plane, Hallinan said.
He said people can save by flying together and splitting the cost of the flight.
The pilot will wait at the destination at a rate of $25 an hour to take passengers home for no additional fare, he said.
Operating out of the William R. Fairchild International Airport in Port Angeles for North Olympic Peninsula residents are Kenmore Air, which offers flights to Boeing Field with a Sea-Tac connection, as well as to several other destinations, and charter service Rite Bros Aviation, Inc.
PT Air can be contacted at 360-385-7770.
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Port Townsend-Jefferson County Editor Jeff Chew can be reached at 360-385-2335 or at jeff.chew@peninsuladailynews.com.
