 In late 2005, the Port announced that it had entered into a lease with Western, a startup airline founded by two local businessmen with aviation experience.On November 16, 2006, Western announced that they would begin flights in January from Bellingham International Airport to four vacation destinations; the fourth announced destination of Reno, Nevada was cancelled before the airline began service.Service began on January 18, 2007, with a flight from Bellingham to Ontario, California.