Horizon Air

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Horizon Air Industries, Inc., operating as Horizon Air, is a regional airline based in SeaTac, Washington, United States. Horizon Air and its sister carrier Alaska Airlines are subsidiaries of Alaska Air Group and all Horizon-operated scheduled flights are marketed and sold by Alaska Airlines. Planes operated by Horizon are co-branded as "Alaska Horizon" in recognition of the Horizon brand and to differentiate aircraft from those operated by Alaska's other regional airline partner, SkyWest Airlines.

Horizon Air was once the eighth largest regional airline in the USA, serving 42 cities in the United States and Canada. It was purchased by Alaska Air Group in November 1986 and continued to fly as a separately branded airline until 2011, when it shifted to the current capacity purchase agreement business model.

Video Horizon Air

History

Horizon Air was formed in May 1981 by Milt Kuolt, and started operations on September 1, 1981, with three Fairchild F-27 aircraft. Its headquarters were in an area that is now within SeaTac, Washington.

Horizon Air's first route was from Yakima to Seattle and one week later, Pasco to Seattle. The general offices of Horizon Air were operated out of an old house behind Sea-Tac airport. Horizon acquired Air Oregon on June 17, 1982, after both airlines were losing hundreds of thousands of dollars monthly, in order to consolidate and reduce their operating deficit. Horizon agreed to purchase Transwestern Airlines of Utah in September 1983, once again to try to reduce operating deficit of the airline.

A single Fokker F28 Fellowship twin jet, purchased in July 1984 from an African carrier, was the first jet owned by Horizon Air (however, the first jet operated by Horizon was a wet leased Douglas DC-9-10).

An initial public offering occurred in 1985 to secure operating capital, which after only one profitable year since founding, was needed to keep the airline afloat.

In the summer of 1985, Horizon entered into its first codeshare agreement with United Airlines. Later that year, on September 8, 1985 Horizon signed an agreement with de Havilland Canada to begin purchasing the airline's first brand new aircraft, the de Havilland Canada Dash 8-100 twin turboprop.

Late in 1985 Horizon entered into an agreement to purchase their chief competitor in Washington, Cascade Airways, but by early 1986 were released from the agreement.

In January 1986, the airline became an international carrier when it began service to Calgary, Alberta, in association with Cascade Airways.

Alaska Airlines struck a deal to acquire Horizon Air in November 1986. The year before, Alaska had underwent a major corporate restructuring with the airline now being owned by the Alaska Air Group, an airline holding company. Under the agreement, the Alaska Air Group became the owner of Horizon Air after approval by the Transportation Department in late December. The Alaska Air Group continued to operate Horizon as a separately branded airline, with a codesharing agreement with its new sister airline, Alaska.

In 1988, Horizon signed a code share agreement with Northwest Airlines.

International service was expanded in May 1989 with flights to Vancouver and Victoria in British Columbia, using both Dash 8-100s and Fairchild Swearingen Metroliner turboprop aircraft.

Horizon was the launch customer for the Dornier 328 turboprop, intending to replace the Metroliners with this new aircraft which promised speed and comfort on par with jetliners. In recognition of the order, Dornier painted its second prototype of the 328 in Horizon colors. Twelve aircraft were delivered between November 1993 and November 1995, but they were quickly phased out in 1997 in favor of fleet standardization to the Dash 8 series of turboprops.

In late 2010, Horizon's parent company, the Alaska Air Group, made the decision to no longer operate Horizon as a separate regional airline. Starting on January 1 2011, Horizon shifted to a capacity purchase agreement (CPA) business model, which had by that time become the regional airline industry standard. Under the CPA, Horizon operates and maintains its aircraft, while Alaska Airlines is responsible for scheduling, marketing and pricing all flights. As part of the change to the new business model, the Horizon Air brand was retired and all Horizon planes were repainted with a co-branded "Alaska Horizon" livery.

Alaska Airlines entered into a similar capacity purchase agreement with SkyWest Airlines in May 2011. As part of the agreement, Alaska Air Group managers agreed to sell Horizon's fleet of five Bombardier CRJ-700 regional jet aircraft to SkyWest, which used the aircraft to operate six West Coast routes as "Alaska SkyWest". The move left Horizon with a fleet consisting of a single type of aircraft; the Bombardier Dash 8-Q400 turboprop.

Horizon announced in April 2016 that it would expand its fleet and once again operate regional jets, placing an order for 30 Embraer 175 airplanes. The order is the largest in the airline's history and was later expanded to 33 jets.

In the summer of 2017, amid unprecedented growth (spurred by the addition of the new aircraft) Horizon experienced a severe pilot shortage, forcing the airline to cancel hundreds of flights and delay delivery of new aircraft. In response, Alaska shifted some of its flights from Horizon to its other regional partner, SkyWest.

Maps Horizon Air

Destinations

Horizon's 47 destinations are located in the U.S. states of Alaska, California, Colorado, Idaho, Minnesota, Missouri, Montana, Nevada, New Mexico, Oregon, Texas, Utah, and Washington as well as the Canadian provinces of Alberta and British Columbia.

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Fleet

The Horizon Air fleet comprises the following aircraft (as of August 2017):

Horizon Air currently operates two types of aircraft, the Bombardier Dash 8 Q400 turboprop and the Embraer 175 regional jet.

The Bombardier Dash 8 Q400, a high speed, high-wing turboprop and is operated in a single class configuration with 76 all leather, non-reclining seats. Each row on the aircraft has two seats on either side of the aisle and no middle seats.

The Embraer 175 regional jet is currently being delivered to Horizon and is operated in a three class configuration (first class, premium class, and main cabin) with a total of 76 all leather, reclining seats. Each row in the premium class/main cabin section of the aircraft has two seats on either side of the aisle and no middle seats. The first class section is configured with a single seat on one side of the aisle and two seats on the other side.

Fleet history

Aircraft that have been in service with Horizon Air in the past are (in alphabetical order):

• Bombardier (de Havilland Canada) Dash 8-100 - turboprop
• Bombardier (de Havilland Canada) Dash 8-Q200 - turboprop
• Bombardier (Canadair) CRJ-700 - regional jet
• Dornier 328 - turboprop
• Douglas DC-9-10 - first jet aircraft type operated by the airline
• Fairchild F-27 - turboprop
• Fairchild Swearingen Metroliner II (formerly operated by Air Oregon) - commuter turboprop
• Fairchild Swearingen Metroliner III - commuter turboprop
• Fokker F28 Fellowship - regional jet

Livery

At the start of the carrier, Horizon had a painted sunrise with a small beach with capitalized words saying "Horizon". Until recently, the current Horizon Air livery was very similar to its parent, Alaska Airlines, except for a dark red (rather than blue) cheatline, and the tail includes a stylized sun and sunset logo, rather than an Eskimo. Eleven Q400s are currently painted in special liveries. Some Dash 8-100's and -200's (no longer in service with Horizon Air) had names of Horizon destinations preceded by "Great City of" or "Great Cities of" printed on the front of the airplane. The first Dash 8-100, N811PH was dedicated as the "Great Cities of Seattle/Tacoma" and the second airplane, N812PH was the "Great City of Portland". N824PH was dedicated as the "Great Cities of Pullman/Moscow" on one side and the "Great Cities of Moscow/Pullman" on the other side. N363PH (Dash-8-Q200) was the first airplane to incorporate the "deep bing cherry red" on the underside of the engine nacelle. This became the standard for Horizon's brand livery as well as the current Alaska Airlines livery. Prior to this change the underside of the nacelle was painted "Horizon White".

On January 25, 2011, Horizon Air announced it was retiring its public brand and adopted the trademark Eskimo of its sister company, Alaska Airlines, on its fleet. As part of the brand change, Horizon's Bombardier Q400 fleet has been repainted with a new paint scheme prominently featuring "Alaska" across the fuselage and the Eskimo on the tail. The plane continues to include a small Horizon logo on the sides of the aircraft, which now appears in Alaska's dark blue color.

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Services

Many of the airline's services are the same as those offered by Alaska Airlines, which is Horizon Air's sister company.

On-board meals and beverages

Flight time permitting, passengers in the main cabin are offered a complimentary small snack (cookie, nuts or a snack mix) and a beverage.

Horizon, like its parent airline, Alaska focuses on offering items produced by companies in the Northwest. Coffee from fellow Seattle company Starbucks is served on all flights. Horizon Air was the first airline in the world to serve Starbucks coffee onboard its flights, beginning to pour the iconic brew on February 1, 1990. Horizon's parent company, Alaska began serving Starbucks on February 1, 2012.

Horizon has set itself apart from its sister company and other airlines by offering, to passengers of age, free beer and wine from Northwest breweries and wineries. Liquors, many from Northwest distilleries, are also available for purchase.

On flights longer than one hour, passengers in the main cabin can purchase various "Picnic Packs" (several snack items boxed together) or individual snack items.

Embraer 175 regional jets are equipped with a First Class cabin and Premium Class cabin and offer a similar onboard experience to that of Alaska, with complimentary meals in First Class, complimentary snacks in Premium Class and complimentary alcoholic beverages in both classes.

On-board Internet access

Horizon's Embraer 175 regional jets are equipped with an in-flight Wi-Fi and streaming entertainment system. None of Horizon's Q400 aircraft are equipped with such a system.

Alaska and Horizon use Gogo Inflight Internet, a land-based internet service, covering all routes served by the airline. The service is fee-based for all passengers, depending on the length of the flight.

Lounge

Alaska Lounge is the Alaska Air Group airport lounge and are located in four west coast airports: Anchorage, Los Angeles, Portland and Seattle. Memberships start at $45 for a single-day pass, up to $875 for a new three-year membership. MVP members receive a 50% discount on the initiation fee and MVP Gold members have their initiation fee waived. Both MVP and MVP Gold are still responsible for the actual annual membership fee.

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Accidents and incidents

• On May 2, 1986, a Fairchild Metroliner was hijacked over Oregon, between Eugene and Portland. The pilot convinced the hijacker to allow the plane to stop in Hillsboro to refuel and even let the pilot off the plane, who then called the FBI.
• On April 15, 1988, Flight 2658, a DeHavilland Canada Dash 8-100 (N819PH-Great City of Sun Valley), en route from Seattle to Spokane with 37 passengers and 3 crew members, crashed after attempting an emergency landing at Seattle-Tacoma International Airport (Sea-Tac). The number two (right side/starboard) engine caught fire (due to a manufacturing defect) after take-off from Seattle. Loss of hydraulic pressure due to the fire caused the aircraft to veer off the runway, across the grass, across Taxiway B, and crashed into the B7 and B9 jetways, destroying the plane. There were four serious injuries and no fatalities.
• On May 23, 1990, a Fairchild Metroliner III on a flight from Portland to Seattle suffered a window blowout at 14,000 feet (4,300 m) above Olympia. The flight made an emergency descent and landing to its planned destination of Sea-Tac Airport. The passenger seated next to the window, who was partially sucked out of the plane for a brief period, was taken to a local hospital where he was treated for his injuries and released.

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See also

• Alaska Air Group - Parent company
• Alaska Airlines - Mainline airline co-subsidiary of Horizon's regional operations
• NTSB accident report of Flight 2658

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References

• Endicott, Bill (2001). Williams, Dayna Spear, ed. Remember the Magic... The Story of Horizon Air. Turner Publishing Company. ISBN 978-1-56311-725-1. 

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External links

Media related to Horizon Air at Wikimedia Commons

• Official website
• NTSB accident report of Flight 2658

Source of the article : Wikipedia