Intel says it resumed flying its employee shuttle service in and out of Hillsboro Airport on Monday, a year after it suspended the flights amid a steep business downturn.
The air shuttle’s return apparently reflects the company’s improving financial position and, perhaps, a move back to more in-person meetings among employees at Intel sites in Oregon, Arizona and at corporate headquarters in Santa Clara, California.
Intel has 23,000 employees in Washington County, more than anywhere else the chipmaker operates. The Intel Air Shuttle was a popular alternative to driving between the company’s Oregon campuses and Portland International Airport, 25 miles away.
Intel had operated 13 flights daily through Hillsboro in past years but had ratcheted that back to eight flights a day after the pandemic. The Port of Portland, which operates Hillsboro Airport, said Intel will now fly up to six times a day but said the company’s schedule will vary.
Intel spokesperson Eleonora Akopyan said the company will operate two larger aircraft later in 2024, which could help compensate for the reduction in flights by carrying more employees. She didn’t say how big the new airplanes will be or how many passengers the current planes fly.
Flight tracking site FlightAware showed four flights Monday between Hillsboro and San Jose, California, using a 50-passenger jet operated by a corporate air shuttle service.
-- Mike Rogoway covers Oregon technology and the state economy. Reach him at mrogoway@oregonian.com or 503-294-7699.