Your Guide To Seattle Boeing Field


History of Boeing Field

Boeing Field was Seattle’s main passenger airport from its construction in 1928 until Seattle-Tacoma International Airport (SEA) began operations in the late 1940s, with the exception of its use for military purposes during World War II. The Boeing Company continues to use the field for testing and delivery of its airplanes, and it is still a regional cargo hub. It is used by Air Force One when the President of The United States visits the Seattle area.

The August 1946 OAG lists 24 United Airlines weekday departures, 10 weekly flights on Northwest Airlines and several Pan Am Douglas DC-3s a week to Juneau via Annette Island Airport which was the airfield serving Ketchikan at the time. Northwest moved to SEA in 1947, United moved in 1949, and Pan Am in 1953. West Coast Airlines was operating scheduled passenger Douglas DC-3 service from the airport by November 1946 and served Boeing Field for many years. West Coast successors Air West followed by Hughes Airwest operated scheduled passenger flights including McDonnell Douglas DC-9-30 jet service until 1971 when Hughes Airwest moved its service to Seattle-Tacoma International Airport. West Coast began operating Douglas DC-9-10 jet service from Boeing Field in 1968.

Source: Wikipedia

Table of Contents
  1. Terminal and FBO Information
  2. The Boeing Company at Boeing Field
  3. ATC
  4. Airfield Info
  5. Arrival, Departure, and Approach Procedures
  6. Notable Moments at BFI
Credits

Terminal and FBO Information

Airline Terminal (Kenmore Air)

Boeing Field airport is only served by Kenmore Air, a local airline operating 208 Caravans with daily service to Friday Harbor, WA, and Eastsound, WA. Kenmore also offers charter flights with their PC-12 aircraft to various destinations.

Clay Lacy FBO (Clay Lacy private jets)

The Clay Lacy FBO, located on the south side of the airport, handles aircraft operated by private jet operator “Clay Lacy.” The FBO was built recently and is a favored FBO at Boeing Field. Clay Lacy also offers hangar space and maintenance for certain aircraft.

Modern Aviation & BBJ FBO (private jets, BBJ, presidential, and charter jets)

Located in the same building, the Modern Aviation FBO and Boeing Business Jet (BBJ) FBO service various aircraft including private jets and GA aircraft as well as offering fuel for many types of aircraft. This FBO is usually the least preferred at BFI due to better services being offered at Signature Aviation.

Modern Aviation also handles all presidential aircraft, including Air Force 1 and Air Force 2. They also service all large jets such as charter planes.

Bonus picture from @RedWolf of Air Force 2 at Modern Aviation

Signature Aviation FBO (private jets)

The most popular FBO at Boeing Field, this area sees many aircraft per day. Used as the main FBO in Seattle for both Flexjet and Netjets, operations are nonstop here. The FBO offers fuel, crew car, catering, and other various services. Signature also services GA aircraft and is a favorite among pilots.

UPS Cargo Building (cargo hub)

Newly constructed in 2023, the UPS cargo building has 4 hardstands, exclusively serving UPS planes such as the 757 and MD-11. Frequent destinations served by UPS out of BFI are Ontario, CA, and Louisville, KY.


The Boeing Company at Boeing Field

Boeing takes up the entire west side of the airport, and carries out many programs in the small space that they have. Below, you can find information on all of the main programs that Boeing uses BFI for. Many other small operations from Boeing happen at BFI, but there are simply too many to list.

737 program

Boeing uses space at BFI to store, test, and deliver 737 MAX 7/8/9/10 aircraft. The ramp has space for 37 MAX aircraft, as well as 2 hangars, and 27 additional spots across East Marginal Way for long-term storage.

The ramp also has a special building known as the “Boeing Delivery Center,” which is where the ownership of the aircraft changes from Boeing to the customer, and the plane is “delivered” to its next destination. Common places for a new MAX to be delivered are; Phoenix (Southwest Airlines), Oakland (Alaska Airlines), and Dublin (Ryanair).

Note: 737 MAX aircraft are not built at BFI, they are built at Renton Municipal Airport, which also stores extra MAX aircraft fresh off the assembly line.

777X (777-9) program

Stored on the same ramp area as the 737 MAX aircraft, Boeing Field has space for 2 777-9 aircraft. Boeing has 3 777-9 test aircraft in total. N779XY and N779XX are stored at Boeing Field, whilst the third aircraft, N779XZ is stored at Paine Field in Everett. The 777X program has paused and resumed multiple times, as of now (January 2025), the 777X program is running.

Bonus picture of N777XY from @RedWolf

The Museum Of Flight

The Museum Of Flight is considered one of the best aviation museums in the world. With aircraft such as the first 747 ever made, a British Airways Concorde, and an original 787-8 with a full cabin, The Museum Of Flight is on many avgeek’s bucket lists. The Museum Of Flight is favored because of the size of the museum, as well as the condition they keep their aircraft in and the amount of aircraft you can actually go inside. General admission starts at $29 for an adult.

Military delivery center

The military delivery center holds military aircraft, mainly KC-46 tankers, that are ready to be delivered to the United States Air Force. With space available for 9 military aircraft, this space is also used to store military aircraft that are still being tested.


ATC

Source: airnav.com

Name of frequency Frequency
Unicom 122.95
ATIS 127.75
Ground 121.9
Tower 118.3
Seattle Approach 119.2
Seattle Departure 119.2
Clearance 132.4
Seattle Center 128.150

Airfield Info

Source: airnav.com

Runways

Identifier Length Width Material
14L/32R 3,709ft (1131m) 100ft (30m) Asphalt
14R/32L 10,007ft (3050m) 200ft (61m) Asphalt

Elevation - 21.6ft (surveyed)
FAA Identifier - BFI
ICAO - KBFI
Class - Bravo

Landing fee -

  • Non-based aircraft over 12,500lbs: $1.50 per 1,000 pounds maximum gross landing weight (MGLW)
  • All other aircraft: No landing fee

Arrival, Departure, and Approach procedures

SIDs (Standard Instrument Departures):

Procedure name Direction Runway Remarks
NEEDL1 North east 32L/R Departure procedure in real life is now “NEEDL2” but IF has not updated
KENT8 South east 14L/R Only consists of 1 waypoint
NRVNA1 South east 14R Only consists of 1 waypoint
CBAIN1 North west 32L Not commonly used

STARs (Standard Terminal Arrival Route):

Procedure name Direction Runway Remarks
SKYKO1 East 14L/R, 32L/R Expect vectors after HUVUS fix
CHINS5 South east 14L/R, 32L/R If landing 14R/L, expect to maintain present heading after the arrival procedure to be vectored for right traffic for landing
OLM2 South 14L/R, 32L/R If landing 32L/R, expect vectors to the east, if landing 14R/L, expect vectors to the north over Vashon Island
JAWBN6 North west 14L/R, 32L/R If landing 14L/R, expect straight in approach, if landing 32L/R, expect vectors to transition over KSEA and make left traffic

Approach procedures:

Procedure name Runway Transitioning from Type
I14R 14R/L SEA VOR ILS approach
H14RZ 14R/L OLM2, SKYKO1 RNAV approach
L14R 14R/L SEA VOR Localizer approach
R14RY 14R/L OLM2, SKYKO1 RNAV approach
I32L 32L/R LACKR ILS approach
H32LZ 32L/R ARVAD (OLM2), HUMPP (CHINS5), WOODI (SKYKO1) RNAV approach
L32L 32L/R LACKR Localizer approach
R32LY 32L/R ARVAD (OLM2), HUMPP (CHINS5), WOODI (SKYKO1) RNAV approach

Note for SIDs/STARs; all airports in the Seattle area (KBFI, KSEA, KRNT, KPAE) use the same arrival procedures


Notable Moments at BFI

  1. First flight of the Boeing 757 (1982)
  2. First flight of the Boeing 787 (2009)
  3. Last flight of British Airways Concorde (G-BOAG) lands at BFI to rest at The Museum Of Flight (2003)

If there are any mistakes in this guide, please let me know.

16 Likes

Wow! great topic!

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Amazing and well-detailed guide @RedWolf - good job!

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I’m honored 🥰

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Amazing topic! I can tell you put a ton of time in to this. It makes me want to do a flight out of this airport now

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i need to make one of fll

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Great guide!

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Very detailed, great guide!

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Amazing guide 👏

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I applaud the craftsmanship of this guide

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