Taking four flights between Pendleton and Portland on Boutique Air have been a smooth experience — consistently good quality and no-muss, no fuss among agents or pilots. Boutique service is more professional than that of SeaPort Airlines, which preceded Boutique.

Boutique has a first-rate terminal building just yards from the long lineup of airlines at Portland International. And travelers going just to Portland are not subject to body searches. Seats in the eight-passenger cabin are an improvement over the SeaPort seating.

Flights I have taken have been mostly full. I appreciate the Boutique schedule: three flights daily Pendleton-Portland and three daily Portland-Pendleton.

Boutique is supported partly by federal funds servicing rural parts of the country, and the amount of support depends partly on numbers of seats sold. This airline does not meet all of Umatillla county’s transportation needs, but it is an important service.

Mike Forrester

Pendleton