Why does Kenmore Air hate the peninsula?

I just read that Seattle based Kenmore Air has filed a complaint with the Department of Transportation to prevent newcomer Dash Air from providing service from Port Angeles to SeaTac.

They claim, as I read in some of the aviation trade publications, that Dash’s reservation service provider is in Florida, and their aircraft is leased from an Oregon company and that Dash’s license only allows for intrastate transportation.

I might be new here, but I’m pretty sure Port Angeles and Sequim are part of the state of Washington. Scary to think Kenmore, who flies passengers from one place to another doesn’t know their geography.

This is a classic David and Goliath story: Kenmore has been operating for years, ferrying well-heeled tourists to the San Juan Islands.

While they are complaining about a company trying to offer peninsula residents an alternative to the mind-numbing drive to SeaTac, we should recall that Kenmore abandoned the peninsula when it pulled service from Port Angeles in 2014, causing a loss of jobs and options for peninsula residents.

My wife and I were looking forward to the convenience that Dash Air is offering — and the fact that, according to their website, passengers at Fairchild Airport in Port Angeles would receive free parking instead of the $34 per day cost at the SeaTac terminal.

Why can’t Kenmore be happy with their tourist business and let an entrepreneur like Dash give the residents of the Peninsula a choice when they travel?

Bill Penczak

Sequim