Alaska Airlines has taken a first step on flying out of Everett's Paine Field by submitting a schedule with the Federal Aviation Administration.

According to a news release from Alaska, a first year of operations would include 14 weekly round-trip flights to Las Vegas, Honolulu and Maui, and 21 weekly flights to Portland, Ore. This is a required step if the carrier were to begin jet service out of the regional airport at some point in the future.

"We continue to believe that our flights at Sea-Tac Airport and in Bellingham best serve the Puget Sound region's needs for affordable air travel, particularly in light of the significant investments both airports have made recently to improve their facilities," said Andrew Harrison, Alaska Airlines' vice president of planning and revenue management, in the news release.

"That said, if one or more other airlines begin operations at Paine Field, we would commence service alongside these carriers. Submitting a schedule with the FAA along with a request for authorization to serve Paine is a necessary step in the process."

Alaska Airlines operates about 1,750 weekly round-trip flights at Seattle-Tacoma International Airport and up to 63 weekly round-trip flights at Bellingham International Airport.

Paine Field currently has no adequate passenger terminal. One would need to be built before operations by any airline could begin.

Reach Business Editor Dave Gallagher at 360-715-2269 or dave.gallagher@bellinghamherald.com. Read his business blog at blogs.bellinghamherald.com/business or follow him on Twitter at @bhamheraldbiz.