Flights to Washington

For travelers flying into the state of Washington for business, a vacation, or to visit friends or family, there are multiple options. To find the best deals on a flight into Washington, you will generally have good luck searching online or through the main airlines with flights into Washington, namely Alaska Airlines and Southwest. Other major airlines, including Delta and others, also fly into Washington.

Seattle and Spokane have the two largest airports in the state of Washington. Prices for a flight to Washington are generally cheaper flying into Seattle than into Spokane, as well. Of course, your choice does depend on your final destination. Moses Lake, a small town located in central Washington, also has a small airport which accommodates small planes. If you need to get into central Washington, consider a flight to Moses Lake. Note that if you fly on a large jet from far away, you will likely be required to transfer to a smaller plane in Spokane or Seattle in order to fly into Moses Lake.

If you are looking for a flight to Washington, consider flying into the Seattle International Airport. Although Spokane in eastern Washington also has an international airport, it is much smaller and does not service nearly as many cities as Seattle International Airport. A flight Seattle from most other cities will be serviced by the major carries you might expect. Alaska Airlines is the most prominent airline at this Washington Airport, in large part due to the fact that the Alaska Airlines headquarters is located nearby in Alaska, and the company has many of its major offices in Seattle itself. Finding a cheap Washington flight out of Seattle will depend on where you are headed, and Alaska will not necessarily be the best choice. Although the airline JetBlue usually flies only between major cities, cross-country flights from Seattle to New York are often cheapest through this airline, especially if you aren’t picky about your amenities.

The Seattle International Airport is officially named the Seattle-Tacoma International Airport, and is commonly referred to as Sea-Tac. Barring any heaving traffic, you should be able to drive from this Washington airport to downtown Seattle in less than 30 minutes, as it is located about 15 miles south of the city of Seattle and about 45 minutes north of Tacoma. A flight to Washington into Sea-Tac is generally the cheapest option from most other major US cities.

Finding a flight to Washington or Seattle in particular can be done through most online travel companies and of course by booking over the phone. In addition to the airlines listed above, Southwest is yet another good airline to choose when looking for a budget flight. Budget carriers such as Southwest or JetBlue, however, do not offer first-class seating. If this is a priority for you, try Alaska, Delta, or some of the other major carries with flights into Seattle.

Shorter flights from Portland, Spokane and northern California are also available with frequent flights into and out of Seattle. Portland and Spokane in particular usually have a flight leaving through Alaska about once an hour, with fares often being less expensive than the cost of driving the same distance. These smaller flights are usually conducted with smaller planes, sometimes called hopper-jets, which seat about 20-40 people rather than the larger 747 planes.

Once you’ve found your cheap Washington flight and find yourself at the Seattle International Airport, you may be looking for a rental car desk or other visitor information to help find a Seattle hotel. Head down to the baggage claim floor, which is one level below the arrival gates, and check out the Visitor Information Desk near carousel number 11. This desk, however, is only open from 9am until 5pm, so if your flight arrives outside these hours you will need to rely on the brochures and phone services near the desk. Taxi cabs, limousines and shuttles run 24 hours a day. A special area for cab-pickups is located on the third floor of the terminal, and you do not need reservations.