|
||||
| Founded | 1981 | |||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Commenced operations | September 1, 1981 | |||
| Hubs | ||||
| Secondary hubs | ||||
| Frequent-flyer program | Mileage Plan | |||
| Airport lounge | Board Room | |||
| Fleet size | 48 | |||
| Destinations | 47 | |||
| Company slogan | Wings of the Great Northwest | |||
| Parent company | Alaska Air Group | |||
| Headquarters | SeaTac, Washington[1][2] | |||
| Key people | Glenn Johnson (President) | |||
| Website | http://www.horizonair.com/ | |||
Horizon Air Industries, Inc. (d/b/a Horizon Air)[3] is a regional low-cost airline based in SeaTac, Washington, United States.[4][5][6] It is the eighth largest regional airline in the USA, serving 52 cities in the United States, Canada and Mexico.
Horizon Air and its sister carrier Alaska Airlines are subsidiaries of Alaska Air Group. It is also a substantial codeshare partner of American Airlines and Delta Air Lines.
Contents |
Horizon Air was formed in May 1981 by Milt Kuolt, and started operations on September 1, 1981 with three Fairchild F-27 aircraft.[7] The airline was formed as a merger of Horizon Airlines and Air Oregon in 1982. Its headquarters were in an area that is now within SeaTac, Washington.[8]
Horizon Air's first route was from Yakima to Seattle, and one week later, Pasco to Seattle.[9] 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.[10] Horizon agreed to purchase Transwestern Airlines of Utah in September 1983, once again to try to reduce operating deficit of the airline.[11] A single Fokker F28 was the first jet owned by Horizon Air, purchased from a carrier in Africa, in July 1984, however their first jet was a wet leased Douglas DC-9.[12][13]
An initial public offering occurred in 1984 to secure operating capital, which after only one profitable year since founding, was needed to keep the airline afloat.[14] On September 8, 1985 Horizon signed an agreement with de Havilland Canada to begin purchasing the airline's first brand new aircraft, the de Haviland Dash 8.[15][16] In the summer of 1985, Horizon entered into its first codeshare agreement with United Airlines,[17] which attracted the attention of Alaska Airlines who finally purchased Horizon in 1986.[18] Late in 1985 Horizon entered into an agreement to purchase their chief competitor in Washington, Cascade Airways,[19] but by early 1986 were released from the agreement.[20] In 1988 Horizon signed a codeshare agreement with Northwest Airlines. In 1989, Horizon became an international carrier when it began service to Vancouver, BC and Victoria, BC in May of that year using both Dash-8-100s and Fairchild Swearingen Metroliner.
Horizon was the launch customer for the Dornier 328 turboprop, intending to replace the Fairchild Metroliners with this new aircraft which promised jetliner speed and comfort. Prototype#2 was painted in Horizon colors. Twelve were delivered between November 1993 and November 1995, but they were quickly phased out in 1997 in favor of fleet standardization around the Dash-8.
In the spring of 2007, Horizon launched service from Los Angeles and Seattle to Santa Rosa, California to take advantage of the burgeoning wine and tourism industry. This was a significant coup for the Sonoma County region which had not had regularly scheduled air service in almost six years. The new routes proved so popular that in the fall of 2007, Horizon commenced non stop service from Portland, OR to Santa Rosa, and expanded the schedule for non stop flights between Los Angeles and Santa Rosa. It is wholly owned by the Alaska Air Group and has 4,040 employees (at March 2007).[21] Horizon Air has been featured in several films, including the 1983 motion picture WarGames and 1995 motion picture Georgia (1995 film).
On August 23, 2010, it was announced that Horizon's business model was to change to having all decisions about route choices and marketing services being made by Alaska Airlines by the beginning of 2011. The business model Alaska Air Group Inc. is adapting is called the "Capacity Purchase Agreement." The change meant that all ticket revenue would go to Alaska Airlines, and Horizon's operating costs would be covered by Alaska Airlines. Before the change, limited amounts of Horizon routes had been operated as such, but more had been run entirely by Horizon.[22]
On January 25, 2011, Alaska Airlines announced that it would be retiring the Horizon Air brand. All Horizon planes are now being repainted in the trademarked eskimo Alaska livery, but the service and extras Horizon is known for stayed the same.[23]
Glenn Johnson was appointed President of Horizon Air in June 2010, replacing the retiring CEO and President Jeff Pinneo. Johnson joined Alaska Airlines in 1982 as a staff auditor and was promoted to Director of Revenue Accounting. In 1991, he joined Horizon as Vice President of Finance and Treasurer, and was then promoted to Senior Vice President of Customer Services. In 2003, Johnson returned to Alaska to serve as Vice President of Finance and Treasurer for Alaska Air Group and Alaska Airlines, and he was subsequently promoted to Executive Vice President and CFO.
Horizon's 47 destinations are located in the U.S. states of Arizona, California, Idaho, Montana, Nevada, Oregon, and Washington. Horizon also has service to Alberta and British Columbia, Canada as well as Baja California Sur, Mexico. Codesharing with Alaska Airlines, American Airlines,[24] and Delta Air Lines allows Horizon Air customers to fly to cities not served by Horizon Air throughout the U.S. as well as the rest of the world.[25]
Horizon Air operates 48 narrow-body aircraft as of June 2011, with a single economy class service:[26]
| Aircraft | Total | Orders | Passengers (Economy) |
|---|---|---|---|
| Bombardier Q400 |
|
|
|
Horizon Air has one Q400 Next Gen aircraft with a modernized interior but has another on order so it will soon have two.
The average Horizon Air fleet age is 5.7 years old as of December 2011.[27] The Q400 is a 74 or 76 seat, high-wing turboprop. All Horizon Air aircraft are operated in a single class configuration. Each row has two seats on either side of the aisle. As such, there are no middle seats on Horizon, only window or aisle. Horizon Air features all leather seating.[28]
In May 2011, SkyWest Airlines began operating six of Alaska Airlines' West Coast routes using five Bombardier CRJ-700s purchased from Horizon Air. SkyWest owns, operates, crews, and maintains the aircraft, while Alaska Airlines schedules, prices and markets the flights.[29]
Aircraft that have been in service with Horizon Air are (in alphabetical order):
On May 31, 2011, Horizon Air phased out the last of its CRJ-700 planes and now operates only the Q400.[26][31] In January 2007, the Q200s were removed from Horizon Air service and were dry leased to CommutAir.[37]
At the start of the carrier, Horizon had a painted sunset 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 8-200's (no longer in service with Horizon Air) had names of Horizon destinations printed near the front left door.
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 will be repainted with a new paint scheme prominently featuring "Alaska" across the fuselage and the Eskimo on the tail. The plane will continue to include the Horizon logo on the sides of the aircraft, which will now appear in Alaska's dark blue color.
Eleven Q400s are painted in special liveries:
Many of the airline's special liveries feature the colors and logos of universities located in the Pacific Northwest.[39] These include:
Many of the airline's services are the same as those offered by Alaska Airlines, which is Horizon Air's sister company.
Board Room is the Alaska Air Group airport lounge, and are located in seven west coast airports including: Anchorage, Los Angeles, Portland, San Francisco, and Seattle. Board Room Members also have access to Delta Air Lines Sky Club at airports across the country. Memberships start at $45 for a single-day pass, up to $875 for a new three-year membership.[43][44]
Mileage Plan is the travel rewards program of the Alaska Air Group, Alaska Airlines and Horizon Air. The program's airline partners also include Oneworld member airlines American Airlines, British Airways, Cathay Pacific, LAN, and Qantas; SkyTeam member airlines Air France, Continental Airlines (until October 24, 2009), Delta Air Lines; as well as Air Pacific, Era Aviation, Frontier Alaska, Mokulele Airlines, and PenAir.[45] MVP and MVP Gold are Mileage Plan's top tiers for experienced travelers.[46]
The Mileage Plan program has no membership fee and any mileage will be valid to the last day of the 24th month following the month of the last flight or transaction date. In addition, if a Mileage Plan member does not accumulate mileage within nine months after becoming a member, or a Mileage Plan member's account remains inactive at zero mileage for a consecutive 24 month period, the Mileage Plan account will be canceled.[47]
The MVP, MVP Gold and MVP Gold 75 program is the frequent flyer service status program and is divided into three membership levels, MVP, MVP Gold, and MVP Gold 75 based on the member's travel in the last calendar year. All membership levels include free checked baggage. Higher-tiered members are provided with increased travel benefits such as bonus mileage, priority boarding and airport lounge access.[43]
MVP level is achieved or retained when the member earns 20,000 miles (32,000 km) on Alaska Airlines or Horizon Air, 25,000 miles (40,000 km) on Alaska Airlines, Horizon Air, American Airlines, Delta Air Lines, KLM, Air France, or LAN Airlines, or 30 one-way segments on any combination of Mileage Plan members. Membership benefits include 50 percent bonus mileage, priority check-in at First Class counters, priority seating on board Alaska Airlines and Horizon Air flights, as well as a 50 percent discount on Board Room membership initiation fees. Members booked in fare class Y and YAS can be upgraded to First Class at anytime, and all other rate categories with in 48 hours of flight.[43]
MVP Gold level is achieved or retained when the member earns 40,000 miles (64,000 km) on Alaska Airlines or Horizon Air, 50,000 miles (80,000 km) on Alaska Airlines, Horizon Air, American Airlines, Delta Air Lines, KLM, Air France, LAN, or 60 one-way segments on any combination of Mileage Plan members. Membership benefits include 100 percent bonus mileage, priority check-in at First Class counters, priority seating on board Alaska Airlines and Horizon Air flights. Members booked in fare class Y, S, B, M, H, or Value and Full Flex fares can be upgraded to First Class at anytime, and all other rate categories with in 72 hours of flight. Companions also receive this benefit, and members are given four complimentary upgrade certificates for guests annually. [43]
MVP Gold 75 level is achieved or retained when the member earns 75,000 miles (121,000 km) on Alaska Airlines or Horizon Air, 90,000 miles (140,000 km) on Alaska Airlines, Horizon Air, American Airlines, Delta Air Lines, KLM, Air France, LAN, or 90 one-way segments on any combination of Mileage Plan members. Membership benefits include 100 percent bonus mileage, priority check-in at First Class counters, priority seating on board Alaska Airlines and Horizon Air flights. Members booked in fare class Y, S, B, M, H, or Value and Full Flex fares can be upgraded to First Class at anytime, and all other rate categories with in 72 hours of flight. Companions also receive this benefit, and members are given four complimentary upgrade certificates for guests annually. A 50,000-mile (80,000 km) bonus is awarded to MVP Gold 75 members. [43]
Since 1991, Starbucks coffee is served in-flight on all Horizon Air flights, and is brewed at the terminal and served in thermos containers on board the aircraft.[48] Horizon has set itself apart from its sister company and other airlines by offering, to passengers of age, free Northwest beer and wine.[49] Other free beverages include Coca-Cola products, Talking Rain sparkling water, juices, and tea.[50] Horizon also offers a limited buy on board meal service. This includes a variety of snack packs and Umpqua Oats All Natural Oatmeal [50] Unlike Alaska Airlines, there are currently no plans to install in flight wireless internet on board Horizon Air planes.[51]
Since the founding, no fatal accidents have occurred.
|
||||||||||||||||||||