Kenmore Air

I had no idea until I saw the US customs line inside that this place can be a jump off point to our neighbors up north, or to nearby islands. So, if you feel spontaneous, bring your passports.
Now, onto the flight experience (tour of greater Seattle metro). It is exactly what you expect it to be: A sturdy, cushy, antique tank w/​wings flying you around for half an hour, swooping over and under landmarks, skylines, and foggy lakes. Incredible views of the Pacific Northwest.
I’d put this sea plane tour alongside a days visit to Mt Rainier national park as must do ‘s if you’re planning on visiting Seattle. 5 stars

It is not cheap but it is a genuine good deal. This company is also a seaplane airline that can fly you to the San Juans or even further north to Alaska. I enjoyed the 30 minute tour of Seattle and these guys fly right up close and personal to some the of West Coast’s tallest buildings. Seattle is a truly magnificent city with gorgeous scenery in every direction. This plane ride will take your breath away.

Excellent service. They answered all my questions over the phone and then when I arrived they were very friendly and helpful. The waiting room was clean and there is a Starbucks close by if you have to wait. I really appreciate the courtesy parking that I was able to get. Might not be as easy if I had a later flight.
Both pilots I had were very professional and handled the planes well. Very smooth take offs and landings! I wish I would have know there were complementary earplugs for our use on the way to San Juan Island. Those small planes can be loud when flying! It was a more comfortable flight on the way home with the earplugs in
I really recommend trying out Kenmore Air! This was a great way to travel to San Juan Island and enjoy Friday harbor!

My husband and I wanted to celebrate our anniversary in Seattle. While we were there we wanted to watch Orcas in the wild and I had heard The San Juan Islands was the place to go. I booked my flight with Kenmore and the Orca watching in a package through San Juan Safaris (I’ll review that separately). We arrived at Union Lake approximately 45 minutes prior to our departure ay 9:00 am. The staff was super friendly and answered our questions. The explanation to board was easy peasy. About 15 minutes before departure they announced that our flight was delayed one hour because there was fog around the islands. I’ve seen people give bad reviews to the airline because of this. I don’t get it! Safety first! THANK YOU, KENMORE! We were told that if the fog didn’t clear up they would not take us to our destination of Friday Harbor. Instead they would fly us to Roche Harbour (spelling?) which was 20 minutes from Friday Harbor. After the one hour delay we’re flown to our original destination of Friday Harbor with zero problems! The plane ride was smooth and we got some great views! After our Orca watching we were flown back on time and we were flown back to Seattle in 45 minutes. I can’t think of one bad thing to say about Kenmore or their crew. I would use them again in a heartbeat!

Simply put, if you want quick and no-​bs transportation from Seattle to the San Juan Islands, Kenmore Air is the way to go.
Staff is polite and friendly. Pilot frequently invites enthusiastic child or adult up to cockpit for amazing view of the trip. So cool.
They do the very best that they can to arrive and depart on time, and are amazingly courteous with baggage handling.
We always recommend Kenmore Air when our friends ask us how we get to The Islands from Seattle.

Where do I even begin… I’ll start with highly recommending Kenmore Air for your float plane needs. We did the Seattle Scenic Tour — it was incredible! You wear headsets that tell you about what you’re flying over and help give you reference to what you’re seeing. The pilot was great, stellar job all around and the landing was awesome. We’d do this again in a heartbeat!

While not a newbie to air travel, it was my first time travelling by floatplane. I was heading to Victoria (from Lake Union) for the weekend for my bestie’s bachelorette party. Given that the weekend would be a whirlwind, I wanted to avoid driving this one time. I made the online reservations about a week or so before my departure date with a few selections for departure times. Unfortunately, the ideal flight times for me fell within their non-​discounted flight rates, but it sure as heck beats driving and sitting in border and ferry traffic!
On Friday 9/​18, I got on the 3:30pm departure to Victoria; the flight was full save for one seat in the very back. The pilot looked like he had a lot of experience — his flight introduction was a little dry and unanimated, but I get that it’s one of the things he has to do before a flight and not everyone says it with glee and excitement.
The weather could not have been more glorious for our flight! The sunshine was incredible as we lifted off Lake Union, flying past the Space Needle and over Puget Sound. I LOVE flying (including take offs and landings!) and I was in my happy place the entire flight to Victoria. The flight was about 30 minutes, but we experienced delays in Victoria as customs was a bit late arriving. I got flustered when I realized the customs form, which I filled out on the Seattle side, was not with me. I had infact grabbed one of the many other customs forms which children had scribbled and doodled over. Fortunately once I got over my nervousness at my own error, all was well!
The return flight was much different — as the Sunday weather was VERY windy and there were delays and cancellations throughout the day. Kenmore had sent two emails advising of this, and I continued to call them as well to keep updated since I would have to travel about 45 minutes to their Victoria harbor location. We actually took off in a timely manner, maybe a few minutes delayed, but arrived right on time in Seattle. The pilot was younger and made the flight intro much more interesting. Lots of turbulence after take off that lasted about 5 – 10 minutes, and subsided until our descent onto Lake Union. The last few minutes of turbulence cause the lady next to me to hurl into a sic sac envelope (thank god it wasn’t much, because the actual sic sac bag was within the paper envelope).
My final destination was actually Lake Washington, and once I got through immigration (a serious breeze within their terminal), I got back on the plane as the lone passenger for the roughly 5 minute flight to Kenmore. The flights are pricey — but they are totally acing it on the convenience factor. I wish they were more affordable because that is the only way I’d travel back to my former home.
Will I travel with Kenmore again? Sure thing — when I save my pennies, or hit up a seat sale.

Just alright for us. Thought the take off and landing would be much more exhilarating. Didn’t get the rush we thought we would. The flight is very short and the plane interior smells like fuel.
The scenic tour takes you over Lake Union and part of Lake Washington, circles around the downtown and points out the University. Beyond that there isn’t a whole lot more. Get 10% off by booking directly and telling them you have AAA.

What a fantastic time. We took our daughter for a surprise plane ride around Lake Union and she just loved it! We circled the Space Needle (very cool!) Husky Stadium, Lake Washington, and the surrounding areas. It was beautiful — couldn’t have asked for a better day. Kenmore Air is a top notch company– professional all the way– the booking process was wonderful and easy and the pilot was great. The plane was super clean and we didn’t feel at all cramped.
Highly recommend this company if you’d like to see Seattle from above.
As I would like to say… «A No Brainer.»
**its very loud– but you do wear headphones.

Wow! This was a truly amazing experience and I’m glad that we did it with a professional airline like Kenmore Air. Rus and I recently took a seaplane from Seattle to Victoria, Canada. It was the first flight out of Seattle from Kenmore that morning, and the staff was friendly and patient the whole time. A young fellow asked to sit up next to the pilot during the flight and they happily obliged.
Having Customs right on the dock made things easy, stress-​free, and fast. The ride was a little bit bumpy (to be expected, I’d assume), but it was fun and definitely worth it! We’d definitely fly with Kenmore Air again.

Very easy to schedule our large group, child and infant friendly. Great narrated recorded tour. Very clean and well maintained aircraft, pilots well trained. One of the best ways to see the city. A MUST SEE!

A great option for sightseers. My girlfriend and I took a 45 minute flight to the San Juan Islands for a day trip. Though we had a slight delay due to fog, the staff was extremely helpful and accommodating during the delay. They also gave great tips on activities during our trip. I will use Kenmore Air next time I’m looking for an adventure in the Seattle area.

We did the 20 minute Seattle Scenic Tour. $ 100 for the audio guided tour. Definitely a little pricey. It was 5 of us in the plane. The take off and the landing was nice, views were great so that’s nice. I would re consider paying $ 100 for this though. It was fun and beautiful but I would not say it was worth the money

On time, friendly staff, great service. will use Kenmore again next trip.

Absolute worst experience ever. Had reservations for a seaplane flight from seattle to Friday harbor to leave at 8am. We checked in at 7:30am. About 10 minutes later we were told our flight was delayed and should be leaving an hour no problem. We went and got Starbucks then came back. After that hour delay passed they then came out and let us know the flight would be delayed a little longer. Around 10am they finally told us our flight was completely canceled. I had a whale watch tour scheduled for 11:30am so I asked the agent what she would suggest to get us there earlier. She said what’s the big deal there’s plently of other stuff to do in seattle like ride the duck. No accountability for the inconvenience or any attempt to try and help us or show any understanding what so ever. I ended up calling westwind aviation and they were able to schedule us a flight right away to get us to Friday harbor. Suggestion to kenmore air hire some people with customer service experience because it was terrible.

Thank you Kenmore Air pilots for your care and help when we flew an ailing friend to and from Decatur Island. Also, reservations: thanks for suggesting an alternative landing site. It was the better choice — for both our friend and our bank account.