World City Guide

Getting There By Air

Seattle-Tacoma International (SEA)
Tel: (206) 433 5388 or (800) 544 1965, toll free in the USA and Canada.
Website: www.seatac.org

Located 19km (12 miles) south of Seattle, off the I-5, ‘Sea-Tac’ airport carries over 28.8 million passengers annually, to destinations around the world, on more than 40 airlines. It is the primary air transportation hub for Washington State and the Pacific Northwest, as well as a departure point to Canada, Japan, Mexico, Russia, and South Korea. As in all US airports, heightened security measures are being taken for passenger safety and one should allow extra pre-flight time, as well as check the website for the latest updates.

Takeoffs, landings and the Olympic Mountains can be viewed from the new, nearly 107m (350ft) wide by 18.3m (60ft) high glass-walled Central Terminal (centre of the Main Terminal). The state-of-the-art hub contains Pacific Marketplace, a centre of restaurants and retail shops. A five-storey officer tower has conference rooms and state-of-the-art audiovisual equipment. Recently a new shuttle was installed. It runs from the north end of the Main Terminal to its south end. Concourse A has also doubled its gate size from seven to 14.

Major airlines: Alaska Airlines (tel: (800) 426 0333, toll free in the USA and Canada; website: www.alaskaair.com) carries the largest share of the passenger market. About 30 other national and international carriers serve Sea-Tac, including Aeroflot Airlines, Air Canada (including regionals), American Airlines, America West, Asiana Airlines, British Airways, China Airlines, Continental, Delta Airlines, Eva Air, Hawaiian Airlines, Horizon Air, JetBlue Airways, KLM, Korean Air, Northwest Airlines, SAS, Southwest Airlines, Sun Country Airlines, United Airlines and US Airways.

Approximate flight times to Seattle: From London is 9 hours 45 minutes; from New York is 6 hours 10 minutes; from Los Angeles is 2 hours 30 minutes; from Toronto is 7 hours and from Sydney is 18 hours.

Airport facilities: These include a Visitor Information Centre, a Lost and Found centre (tel: (206) 433 5312; e-mail: lost+found@portseattle.org) and several 24-hour ground transportation booths (tel: (206) 431 5906). There are numerous ATMs, two Thomas Cook bureaux de change and a language phone line which provides interpreters for more than 150 languages. The airport has telephone booths, mailboxes and wheelchair availability, as well as the usual shops, restaurants, bars, banks and duty-free shopping. Because of heightened security, all unmonitored storage lockers have been shut down, although luggage can be stored at Ken’s Baggage and Storage, located on the baggage claim level, between Carousels 12 and 13. Alamo, Avis, Budget, Hertz and National car hire companies have information counters in the baggage claim area.

Business facilities: Laptop Lane (tel: (206) 835 4640; fax: (206) 835 4650; website: www.wayport.net/laptoplane) is located in North Satellite Terminal, adjacent to Gate 9, with PC workstations, Internet access, telephones with long distance and conference-calling capabilities, printing, copying, faxing and package shipping, as well as private offices.

International arrival/departure tax: A US$2.50 security tax and all other taxes are included in the price of the ticket.

Transport to the city: Airport and hotel shuttles run almost around the clock, with scheduled departure and arrival times available from the Ground Transportation Information Booths (tel: (206) 431 5904), located on the third floor of the parking garage. Service requires advanced booking. Shuttle Express provides shared rides and a door-to-door service to most of Greater Seattle for US$21 (tel: (425) 981 7000 or (800) 487 7433; website: www.shuttleexpress.com). The Gray Line Downtown Airporter (tel: (206) 626 6088 or (800) 426 7532; website: www.graylineofseattle.com) departs twice an hour (0530-2300), with services to and from main hotels and downtown destinations. The fare is US$10.25 one way and US$17 round-trip. The public bus 194 (see Public Transport in the Getting Around section) departs every 30 minutes for the city centre (journey time – 45 minutes). The fare is US$2 one way at peak times. From the airport to downtown, costs range from US$28-32 for taxis (tel: (206) 246 9999) and from US$30 for limousines (tel: (206) 431 5904).