Puyallup Tribe's partnership with Kenmore Air takes off with scenic South Sound seaplane flights

Members of the Puyallup Tribe described it as an historic day, when a newly-painted seaplane from Kenmore Air touched down on Commencement Bay, with a distinctive red, black and white livery featuring tribal art depicting a salmon on the aircraft's tail.

The new seaplane flights started taking off Aug. 10 from the new Puyallup Tribal Air Terminal on Ruston Way in Tacoma, Washington. It's a partnership with Kenmore Air, a regional airline based north of Seattle that specializes in scenic and destination seaplane flights.

Members of the public can take a 20-minute sightseeing flight over the South Sound, with views of Mount Rainier, Commencement Bay and Vashon Island among other sights.

All seven members of the Puyallup Tribal Council emerged from the inaugural flight to celebrate with a formal blessing ceremony and ribbon cutting.

"We have a terminal!" exclaimed chairman Bill Sterud with a laugh.

The Puyallup Tribe came up with the idea just a year ago and got the necessary permits in record time.

Sterud spoke at a ribbon-cutting ceremony for the new terminal, saying it's part of a larger economic development push by the tribe.

They've recently purchased a candy company, opened a new casino and partnered with Amazon on a sorting center, among other lines of business.

"Not to brag, but we like to think big and like to think out of the box. And you never know where we're gonna go," he said. "We're going up in the air now!"

Kenmore Air President David Gudgel said they were honored to be part of the tribe's big plans.

"Big audacious plans often don't come to fruition, because they're hard," he said.

"What you see out there today represents an amazing, amazing amount of work. And that could not never have happened without the tenacity and commitment that your team has shown. We moved mountains to make this happen."

Several politicians in attendance, among them Congresswoman Marilyn Strickland, said the tribe's success will benefit everyone.

"This is going to be an asset, not just Tacoma and the South Sound, but to the entire Pacific Northwest region and the state. So congratulations on this monumental effort," she said.

The terminal on Ruston Way is on newly-acquired tribal land that is the Puyallup's ancestral homeland. The scenic flights will continue through Oct. 15 and resume in April, with a goal of expanding the service to the San Juan Islands and Victoria, B.C. sometime next spring.

The Puyallup Tribe says its partnership with Kenmore Air makes it the only tribe in the United States to bring seaplane services into its economic portfolio.

knkx.org/south-sound/2023-08-11/puyallup-tribe-kenmore-air-tacoma-south-sound-seaplane-flights

First published Aug. 11, 2023. Copyright 2023 KNKX. Reprinted with permission.