Kenmore Air
Washington’s Home-Grown Airline
That’s a question passengers never hear when checking in for a Kenmore Air flight. On this Seattle-based airline, every seat is a window seat with magnificent lower altitude views of the Pacific Northwest’s inland waterways, islands and mountains. And flying—even on business—is a pleasure.
At the end of World War II, three men—Bob Munro, Reg Collins, and Jack Mines—invested in one plane and one hangar on the north end of Lake Washington. Today, Kenmore Air has soared to a fleet of float and wheeled planes that include three-passenger Cessna 180s, six-passenger Piston and Turbine Beavers, eight-passenger Piper Chieftains, nine-passenger Cessna Caravans and 10-passenger Turbine Otters.
With the airline’s Pacific Northwest roots going back decades, Kenmore Air President Todd Banks is proud of his company’s heritage and commitment to bringing travelers to some of the most scenic destinations in Washington and British Columbia.
According to Banks, “There’s a world of recreational opportunities in the forty or so seasonal destinations we serve.”
Those destinations cover every environment from cityscapes to majestic land- and seascapes. There’s no mistaking that destination diversity is the name of the game on this world-class small airline.
Frequent passenger Katherine McKelvey, publisher of Kenmore’s in-flight destination magazine, travels on the airline to scope out interesting story ideas about the places Kenmore flies. Anywhere Kenmore goes, she goes—the San Juans, the Olympic Peninsula, Victoria and Vancouver Island and even remote coastal fishing and wildlife-watching resorts up in B.C.’s Desolation Sound, only accessible by boat or float plane.
“Whenever I fly Kenmore, I’m reminded of how lucky we are to live in the Pacific Northwest,” McKelvey says. “This airline gives its passengers access to some of the most beautiful places in the world that they might otherwise never discover.”
Kenmore’s Lake Union terminal, where many flights originate, is located in Seattle’s vibrant, uber-urbn South Lake Union (SLU) neighborhood, a destination in itself. Here, the Center for Wooden Boats offers fun and fascinating experiences for both novice and experienced boaters; activities range from an education in boat building to rowing your own wooden boat in Lake Union. Combing the streets of SLU for shops, galleries and some of the city’s best food can fill a day or two. Attractions dot the entire neighborhood, but most line the streetcar route on Westlake Ave N., which reaches south from the city’s new South Lake Union Park. When it’s time to bed down, the neighborhood sports an array of hotels from moderate to deluxe. SLU can provide all the entertainment and comforts you need without having to travel far from Kenmore’s Lake Union terminal.
A sharp contrast to SLU’s urban allure, Friday Harbor draws travelers for an altogether different reason: its island village charm. To get there from Seattle, Kenmore flies up the sound and over the San Juan Islands, one of the most scenic and pristine archipelagos in North America. The plane delivers passengers directly to this charming village’s marina, within walking distance of all the ingredients to create an ideal island vacation. Tourist-savvy San Juan Island has several lodging and dining choices, and Anna Maria de Freitas is among the island’s most respected lodging and culinary pros. This cookbook author runs Tucker House B&B and nearby Coho Restaurant, both in the heart of the village just steps from galleries, museums and shopping, and both an excellent bet for an authentic San Juan Island experience. Local island ingredients are mainstays in de Freitas’ inventive fare, in keeping with her philosophy that local tastes better and lets visitors experience the distinctive flavors of a place.
Not far from San Juan Island, the most popular Kenmore flight to Washington’s neighbor to the north lands on Victoria’s Inner Harbour. A flight from Seattle to this provincial capital crosses the broad Strait of Juan de Fuca, allows a close-up inspection of this elegant old-world city’s core and then sets down for a water landing. So diverse are this destination’s attractions that a flyaway here gives choices that range from a city tour with all the classic stops—the Parliament Buildings, the Royal B.C. Museum, high tea at one of Victoria’s many tea rooms—to a creepy but fascinating visit to one of the world’s best bug museums. To top off a day in Victoria, a night at a luxury inn, such as Abigail’s Hotel, a 1930s-era Tudor mansion turned B&B, hits the spot.
For a more rugged Kenmore flyaway to the far-flung reaches of B.C.’s inside passage, Kenmore takes passengers to any of several adventure lodges. One of the finest is Nanook Lodge on BC’s Stuart Island. This family-owned and operated lodge has earned a reputation as a fisherman’s paradise, a hiker’s haven, and a procrastinator’s promised land where you can do it all or nothing at all. Kenmore Air transports Nanook’s guests directly to its door for an unparalleled outdoor experience. The dramatic scene of forested mountains rising out of fjords, the excitement of massive salmon runs just waiting to bite your bait, and the tranquility of communing with unspoiled nature and the First Nations heritage of this wild place makes it a destination that is one of Kenmore’s gems. Larry Anderson, Nanook Lodge owner, has observed that some of his guests’ simplest experiences turn out to be the most memorable. “Catching your first salmon, sighting an orca or a bear, downing an oyster on the beach, pulling a trap full of crabs or watching an eagle land above you on the deck are everyday happenings for our guests.”
It’s anybody’s guess whether the three men who pooled their funds in 1946 to purchase Kenmore’s first float plane envisioned the world of adventure this small airline would open up for so many people. But if they could see their legacy today, they’d surely be proud.
