'Intel Air' employee flight shuttle resumes regular operations to Oregon, other fab sites – Another sign that Intel is on the upswing?

Intel has reinstated its air shuttle service from Hillsboro Airport, Oregon. An Intel-operated 50-passenger jet flew between Hillsboro and San Jose, California, four times on Monday, reports Oregon Live. The shuttle service was suspended a year ago, a move seen as a sign of belts being tightened during a company downturn.

If the mothballing of ‘Intel Air’ was seen as a bad sign for the business, the resumption of this employee service must be auspicious. The source uses guarded language to paint the change as a reflection of Intel’s improving finances, and/or a strategy that requires more in-person meetings between execs in Hillsboro and Santa Clara.

With 23,000 employees, Intel’s Oregon site has the highest headcount of any location. As well as easing personnel transport from this important site to the Santa Clara HQ, air shuttles will include flights to Arizona, where two important new advanced chip fabs are being set up.

Four flights a day, as seen on Monday, is just the start. Hillsboro Airport said that Intel will operate up to six flights per day in a varied schedule. Two larger aircraft will be drafted into service later this year, potentially boosting the number of employees shuttling between Intel’s sites, or at least offering more flexibility. We don’t know how many people the larger aircraft can carry. Pre-pandemic, Intel was known to operate up to 13 flights a day.

So, is everything on the up at Intel, and should we see the re-opening of the shuttle service as a positive sign for the business? Only yesterday we wrote about the Intel Foundry Unit losing $7 billion. Naturally, Intel stockholders were punished as this news became public.

However, Intel is investing like a company expecting to succeed in a big way. Importantly, it has at long last secured $8.5 billion in CHIPS Act funding (with a 25% tax credit for up to $100 billion) for development in the U.S. With all these big plans and investments now moving into higher gear, perhaps the timing of the resumption of the Intel Air service is no coincidence.