Costco Wholesale lands near Washington DC after a quick hop from Ottawa

Costco Wholesale flew from Merrickville Private Strip near Ottawa, Ontario, to a location just outside Washington DC on the morning of May 22, a 1-hour-16-minute hop in its Gulfstream G280, tail N84CW. The aircraft, part of a four-jet fleet operated out of Boeing Field in Seattle, touched down at roughly 38.93°N, 77.44°W — a spot consistent with Dulles International or a nearby executive field.

The same week, Costco Wholesale’s government affairs team is likely engaged in the annual round of hearings on cross-border retail and tariff policy that typically draw corporate delegations to the capital. With 890 warehouses worldwide and a significant Canadian footprint, the company has a direct interest in trade rules; CEO Ron Vachris has maintained the retailer’s famously flat hierarchy, meaning senior executives often handle lobbying personally rather than delegating to Washington-based staff.

The flight continues a pattern visible in N84CW’s recent logs: a round trip between the Ottawa area and the DC region began on May 18, when the jet flew from near Dulles to a private strip outside Ottawa, then returned two days later. Such shuttles between the two capitals suggest ongoing, high-level dialogue — likely on regulatory or supply-chain matters — rather than a one-off event.