Snacks, Safety, and the Milk Frother at Paine Field
Snacks, Safety, and the Milk Frother at Paine Field
At Paine Field’s private aviation terminal, the details stand out, from curated snacks to a culture built on hospitality and safety. Since 2021, Propeller Aero Services has redefined the FBO experience, driving 190 percent growth in arrivals. It’s where service feels intentional at every level.
Propeller Aero Services and the art of intentional hospitality at Paine Field
by Ellen Hiatt
Snohomish County was buzzing with concerts the evening Brittany McKnight and her copilot flew in on an Airlift NW flight. All the hotels were booked, she shared in an online review where she praised the staff, as well as the snacks.
“…the SNACKS at this place are phenomenal!” she wrote. “Tired pilots and med crews walk in here and the snack selection is such a blessing honestly. We love it.”
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It’s not the first time Jodi Smith, Propeller Aero Services’ Vice President, has heard about the snacks. Just the other day, she said, a customer was outside her office door and she overheard “I love this FBO. They have the best snacks!”
With a big grin she tilted back and affirmed “Whatever it is that makes it the best here — I love it!”
What makes the Paine Field FBO “the best” isn’t the snacks. It isn’t the decor with vintage runway lights, the Miele coffee machine, the customer service, or the renovated facilities. It’s the culture behind all those very deliberately curated elements.
In 2021, Propeller Airports, which operates the commercial passenger terminal at Seattle Paine Field International Airport in Everett, acquired the operations of Castle & Cooke, the fixed base operator (FBO) of Paine Field.
An FBO is the hospitality and ground operations hub for private and business aviation — providing fueling, aircraft services, crew support, and passenger amenities for aircraft arriving and departing from the airport. If a commercial airport is like a busy train station serving hundreds of people at once, an FBO is more like a private club attached to the same railroad.
Not all clubs are created equal, though, and some are not as luxurious as Paine Field’s FBO. When Propeller acquired the operation, there was a clear opportunity to modernize the space and elevate the guest experience, said Smith. Propeller promptly renovated the space in the same vein as the award-winning commercial terminal, whose facilities were modeled after Lufthansa’s first-class European operations. With the same attention to detail, Propeller Aero Services did more than provide a facelift to the infrastructure and operations. They established an entirely new foundation.
The three pillars that make up that foundation, she said, start with hospitality.
“Customer service is the act of service — what are you doing on the daily to help those customers? Hospitality is what do you walk away feeling when you leave that place?” Smith asked.
“We don’t think of it as a single visit. We think of it as the building of a relationship.” – Jodi Smith
McKnight, who flies for Aero Air, LLC, specifically called out line service technician Josh Philipsen for helping coordinate a late-night hotel for a crew after a long day of flying — a small gesture that reflects the service culture Propeller Aero Services aims to deliver.
Life Flight Network helicopter pilot Rob Brew was surprised when Brett Smith, CEO of Propeller Airports, offered to show his crew the best way to froth milk for their hot chocolate.
“I’ve gone to a lot of different FBOs around the country… some of those places don’t treat you the same depending on what you’re flying in with and what services you’re using,” said Brew. “If you’re at Paine Field with a Cessna 172, or if you’re in there with the emergency services helicopter or a private jet, they treat everyone the same.”
Safety is V.P. Smith’s second foundational pillar. “We look at safety as an investment, not a cost.”
“You can have 100 great days and then one incident on the ramp changes everything. Our approach is about consistency and vigilance,” she said.
Propeller Aero Services is in the final stages of becoming IS-BAH certified. The International Standard for Business Aircraft Handling is, as Jodi said, “the gold standard in safety.” It’s a recognized international benchmark.
The third pillar: Culture. And that might seem like a trope to some who are familiar with organizations that talk the talk about “emotional intelligence,” but don’t practice it.
But at Propeller, a high-functioning workplace is a practice, not an idea. It’s not surprising when you learn that Smith came to work for Propeller when she was on her way to get a Ph.D. in clinical psychology.
“We started with the simple things like recognizing birthdays and making sure our employees had uniforms that they felt good about wearing and helped them take pride in this place,” she said.
That pride starts at the top. “I love this place because of what we’ve created here, across the board from the terminal to the FBO, the culture and the people,” she added.
Jessica Kilgore, Director of Communications for Propeller Airports, reflected on that pride: “It’s a group that is all working towards a common goal… People are truly passionate about what they’re doing,” she said, describing an all-hands-on-deck culture that extends to their relationships with Snohomish County and the public-private partnership behind the operation.
That passion is behind Propeller’s constant drive toward “better.” Better service. Better hospitality. Better safety. And behind being a better neighbor. When Smith first arrived from New York, where Propeller Airports was originally based, she joined the Boys & Girls Club board. She and Propeller’s CEO co-chaired the club’s fundraising gala in 2025.
For the FBO, that means nothing is static. Plans are underway for additional renovations, including improving the lobby layout, adding a flight planning room and more offices and improved conference spaces.
For pilots like Brew, at the end of the day they need fast fuel and a 24/7 operation.
With the World Cup coming, private pilots are going to find Paine Field an easy choice to fly into.
Whether they’re looking for a round-the-clock airfield, Customs services, or a cosmopolitan lounge experience, they’ll find it in Everett. And pilots are noticing. Propeller Aero Services has seen 25% revenue growth and 65% earnings growth year-over-year. Arrivals are substantially increasing, as well, by a 190% increase between 2022 and 2025 overall.
But that leaves us wondering… about the snacks. For McKnight, a self-proclaimed professional snacker, the almighty snack is an important “pick-me-up for our medevac crews in the middle of the night.” Her go-to choices are ice cream and popcorn.
How intentional can a snack selection be? When you’re Propeller Aero Services… VERY. Both the FBO and the commercial services at PAE provide snacks curated by Beecher’s Cheese, the sole food concessionaire based on their focus on local and products free of highly processed artificial ingredients and preservatives.
“Where can we do better for our customers to improve their experience?” asked Jodi Smith. That is an ongoing quest for her, and for the entire Propeller team, where everything, including the choice of popcorn, is intentional.
