Target lands in Portland as retailer expands West Coast footprint.

Target flew from Saint Paul Downtown Holman Field to Portland International Airport on May 27, a 3-hour 7-minute hop aboard its Gulfstream G280, tail N585PL. The flight, which maxed out at 43,000 feet, arrived at 5:30 p.m. local time.

The same week Target’s sortation center in Portland began operations, a facility covered by the Portland Business Journal that is designed to speed last-mile delivery across the metro area. The 180,000-square-foot site is part of a broader push by the Minneapolis-based retailer to shorten delivery times and cut costs in its supply chain. Flight history shows the Target team also visited the New York metro area on May 25 and the Bay Area on May 20 — consistent with supply-chain and real-estate reviews on the West Coast and East Coast.

Target Corporation, the second-largest U.S. discount retailer behind Walmart, operates a fleet of three Gulfstream super-midsize jets. CEO Brian Cornell and senior executives routinely deploy the fleet to check new facilities, meet with vendors, and review store performance. The Portland trip fits a pattern of direct flights from home base to secondary distribution hubs.