Newest local airline survives a tough first year

All the while the 19 daily flights between Seattle and Portland routinely have more empty seats than full ones. The Seattle market is notoriously tough to crack, with longtime local Horizon Air holding a lock on the loyalty of most corporate travel departments. Yet Craford sees inroads being made in the small business traveler market and says SeaPort is adding one new corporate account a day and saw a 10 percent increase in boardings in the month of May compared to April.

Craford says SeaPort "is revolutionizing short distance air travel." Still, it is easy to believe him when he sums up the airline business: "There are lots of easier ways to make money than this."