What Kenmore Air does

Kenmore Air (legal entity Kenmore Air Harbor, LLC) is a privately held, family-owned seaplane and land plane airline founded in 1946 and headquartered in Kenmore, Washington on the north shore of Lake Washington. The company operates as the largest seaplane airline in the United States, flying scheduled, charter, and scenic flights to 45 destinations across the Pacific Northwest — including the San Juan Islands (Friday Harbor, Eastsound, Roche Harbor, Lopez Island), Victoria BC, B.C. Inside Passage (Nanaimo, Sunshine Coast, Desolation Sound), and Tacoma — from a network of waterfront terminals at Lake Union, Lake Washington (Kenmore), and Boeing Field in the Seattle metro area.

The company's product portfolio is built around a specialized mixed fleet of de Havilland Beaver and Otter seaplanes, Cessna 208 Caravan and Grand Caravan land planes, and Pilatus PC-12 pressurized turboprops. Core scheduled service is complemented by scenic flight tours (Seattle, Mount Rainier/St. Helens, San Juan Islands, Lake Washington, South Sound), private charters using seaplanes and the PC-12, packaged experiences (whale watching, fishing, hotel bundles), cargo services, and ancillary operations including flight instruction, aircraft parts (EDO floats) sales, and full maintenance capabilities at the 5-acre Kenmore Air Harbor campus. Recent operational moves include a seasonal Tacoma terminal in partnership with the Puyallup Tribe and northbound extension into the B.C. Inside Passage.

Kenmore Air generates revenue through per-ticket transaction fees across scheduled flights, scenic tours, charters, and cargo, supplemented by hardware sales (parts and EDO floats) and professional services (flight instruction). Go-to-market is direct-to-consumer via its website, phone reservations, terminal counters, and a mobile app, with a dedicated charter sales team for higher-value bookings. Its primary customer segments are leisure tourists visiting the San Juans and Victoria, year-round island residents who rely on Kenmore Air as a transportation lifeline (it accounts for roughly 70% of daily flights at Friday Harbor Airport), private charter customers for events and remote destinations, and business travelers commuting between Tacoma and Seattle. CEO David Gudgel currently leads the company.

Name

Kenmore Air

Legal name

Kenmore Air Harbor, LLC

Website

https://kenmoreair.com

Company type

Private

Founded year

1946

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

101–250 employees

Short description

Kenmore Air is a privately held, family-owned seaplane and land plane airline, founded 1946 and headquartered in Kenmore, Washington, operating scheduled, charter, and scenic flights to 45 Pacific Northwest destinations from a mixed de Havilland/Cessna/Pilatus fleet for leisure tourists, island residents, and charter customers.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Seaplane Airline Services

NAICS

Scheduled Air Transportation (48111), Nonscheduled Air Transportation (4812)

SIC

Air Transportation, Scheduled (4512), Air Transportation, Nonscheduled (4522)

akta.pro primary industry

Island & Remote Region Regional Airlines (THABACAL)

akta.pro secondary industries

Seaplane & Amphibious Air Taxi (TLAFABAI), Business Jet Charter (On-Demand) (THABAFAA)

Keywords

• Seaplane airline
• Scheduled flights
• Scenic flight tours
• Charter flights
• Cargo services

Headquarters

HQ city

Kenmore

HQ country

United States

HQ region

North America

Offices9 records

Markets served

GTM type

B2C

Offering type

Services

Cost components

Personnel, Operations, Infrastructure, Supply Chain, Marketing or Sales, Others

Revenue model

1. Scheduled Flight Tickets: Per-ticket revenue from scheduled seaplane and land plane flights between Seattle, San Juan Islands, Victoria BC, Tacoma, and B.C. Inside Passage destinations.
2. Scenic Flight Tours: Per-person revenue from scenic flight tours including Seattle, Mount Rainier/Mount St. Helens, San Juan Islands, Lake Washington, and South Sound routes.
3. Charter Flights: Private charter services using seaplanes (Beaver, Otter) and land planes (Caravan, PC-12) for custom destinations including waterfront lodges, weddings, wine tasting trips.
4. Cargo Services: Cargo shipping services to remote island destinations.
5. Aircraft Parts, Maintenance & Sales: Aircraft parts sales, EDO floats, maintenance services, and aircraft sales through Kenmore Air Harbor subsidiary.
6. Flight Instruction: Seaplane flight instruction programs for pilot training.

Pricing tiers

Go-to-market motion2 records

Distribution channels5 records

Marketing channels5 records

Core offering

Kenmore Air operates scheduled seaplane and land plane flights across the Pacific Northwest, serving 45 destinations including the San Juan Islands, Victoria BC, lower British Columbia, and Tacoma. The company sells per-ticket scheduled flights, scenic aerial tours (Seattle, Mt. Rainier/Mt. St. Helens, San Juan Islands), private charter flights (Pilatus PC-12, seaplane, land plane), package tours, cargo shipping, seaplane flight instruction, and aircraft parts and maintenance services.

Product overview

Kenmore Air operates as a diversified aviation company offering scheduled seaplane and land plane flight services across the Pacific Northwest. The core product portfolio consists of Kenmore Air Express (Cessna 208 Caravan land plane service) and Seaplane Scheduled Flights (de Havilland Beaver and Otter aircraft) serving 45+ destinations including San Juan Islands (Friday Harbor, Roche Harbor, Orcas Island, Lopez Island), Victoria B.C., and B.C. Inside Passage. The company complements scheduled service with Scenic Flight Tours (Seattle, Mt. Rainier/St. Helens, San Juan Islands, Lake Washington, South Sound), Charter Flights (Pilatus PC-12 turboprop, seaplane charters, land plane charters), Package Tours (whale watching, fishing, hotel packages), and ancillary services including QuickTix frequent flyer program, mobile app, cargo, flight instruction, and aircraft parts/maintenance.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Products and services

• Kenmore Air Express

Quantifiable outcome

• 90,000 annual passengers at Friday Harbor with Kenmore Air accounting for 20% of traffic and 70% of daily flights

Named customers5 records

Segments4 records

Ideal customer profiles4 records

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Feature3 records

Partnerships

One partnership is on record.

• Puyallup TribecoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerPartnership with Puyallup Tribe for seaplane operations at Tacoma Ruston Way terminal. 'No other Tribe in our country has an operation like this,' said the Puyallup Tribal Council. Joint branding and operations serving South Puget Sound with scheduled flights to San Juan Islands, Victoria, and Seattle.

Scale indicators6 records

Recent moves6 records

Expansion highlights6 records

Broad incumbents

• Surf Air: Subscription-based regional airline serving the West Coast with scheduled flights from secondary airports. Comparable in targeting the underserved short-haul premium leisure/business traveler segment using turboprop aircraft similar to Kenmore Air's PC-12.
• JSX: Regional scheduled carrier offering semi-private flights from secondary airports on the West Coast. Comparable as a regional airline leveraging smaller airports and simplified boarding to serve leisure and business travelers seeking alternatives to major carriers.
• Wheels Up: On-demand private aviation platform offering shared and whole-aircraft charter across the U.S. Comparable in targeting the high-end charter customer that Kenmore Air serves with PC-12 and seaplane charters, though at a larger scale and broader geography.

Direct peers

• Taquan Air: Alaska-based seaplane operator offering scheduled and charter service in the Inside Passage and around Ketchikan. Comparable as a regional seaplane carrier serving remote island communities with similar fleet types (de Havilland Beaver/Otter).
• Harbour Air: Canada's largest seaplane airline operating scheduled and charter floatplane service across British Columbia, including routes from Victoria and Vancouver. Directly comparable as a seaplane-focused carrier serving Pacific Northwest island and coastal communities.
• Alaska Seaplane Service: Juneau-based seaplane operator providing scheduled and charter service to remote Southeast Alaska communities. Comparable niche seaplane airline with multi-modal fleet serving island and coastal destinations.
• Northwest Seaplanes: Pacific Northwest seaplane operator offering charter and scenic flights in the Seattle area. Comparable as a regional seaplane charter operator competing in the same PNW tourist and corporate market.
• San Juan Airlines: Regional carrier operating scheduled and charter flights in the San Juan Islands and Pacific Northwest from Friday Harbor. Direct competitor on San Juan Islands routes with overlapping customer base of residents and tourists.
• Island Air Express: Regional seaplane and wheeled aircraft operator serving San Juan Islands and Pacific Northwest destinations. Comparable scheduled/charter seaplane services targeting the same leisure and resident customer base.

Others

• Washington State Ferries: State-operated ferry system serving the San Juan Islands from Anacortes. Not a direct competitor in aviation but the dominant surface alternative that defines Kenmore Air's value proposition of speed and convenience versus multi-hour ferry crossings.

Market position

Strengths5 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat5 records

Key risks6 records

Key highlights7 records

Customer concentration

• YouTubeyoutube.com/user/flykenmoreair
• Facebookfacebook.com/KenmoreAir
• Instagraminstagram.com/kenmoreair
• Xx.com/kenmoreair

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles1 record

Funding overview

Funding rounds

Investors

Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

M&A

Investments

M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

Frequently asked questions about Kenmore Air