Horizon going the way of the Eskimo

[Cpt Oveur]

http://www.alaskasworld.com/newsroom/asnews/asstories/AS_20110125_050333.asp

There's the announcement. Retiring the brand, but it doesn't specifically say it will be an "express" or regional.

 

[Flyprdu]

http://www.alaskasworld.com/Newsroom/ASnews/images/horizon_brand_new.jpg

 

[WSurf]

Looks cool if you ask me!

 

[Simon Says]

OK, lets start with this question "Who is the Eskimo on the tail"

My answer....the number one flight attendant at Alaska Airlines.

 

[Z_Pilot]

SkyWest acquiring Horizon’s last 5 RJs;
Q400s may start flying in state of Alaska


January 25, 2011

Alaska Air Group announced today that Alaska Airlines has reached an initial agreement for SkyWest Airlines to acquire the five remaining CRJ-700s in Horizon Air’s fleet and operate them under a capacity purchase agreement. Alaska also announced it is considering the deployment of Horizon Q400s on some state of Alaska routes.

Andrew Harrison, vice president of planning and revenue management, and Joe Sprague, vice president of marketing, answer questions related to these two moves.

Why is Alaska entering into a CPA with SkyWest?
Harrison: Horizon’s financial success depends on its transition to an all-Q400 fleet so it can reap benefits equivalent to what Alaska gained from its own transition to the Boeing 737. That leaves a few longer routes that, for competitive and economic reasons, we need to keep serving with regional jets. SkyWest will fill that need.

What routes will SkyWest be flying?
Harrison: We’re still evaluating that and expect to have an answer in the next month or so. As always with major market changes, we’ll let employees, vendors and airport authorities in these cities know before we announce publicly. What I can say at this point is that SkyWest will primarily be flying the CRJ-700s on some of our longer-haul West Coast routes currently served with the aircraft, but not all of them. Those others will be served by Horizon with the Q400.

Why not have Alaska fly its own jets on these routes?
Harrison: We’ve found that larger jets don’t work well on these routes.

Why is SkyWest flying these routes instead of Horizon?
Sprague: Horizon will not be able to capture the economies of a single fleet until all of its CRJ-700s are gone. In addition, with hundreds of regional jets in its fleet contracted to fly for numerous other customers in similar CPA arrangements, SkyWest has economies of scale that Horizon cannot match.

When will the last five CRJ-700s begin leaving Horizon’s fleet?
Harrison: The current plan is for the last five Horizon CRJ-700s to transition out of Horizon’s fleet starting in April. All current Horizon CRJ-700 flying will either be flown for Alaska with a Horizon Q400 or with a SkyWest CRJ-700 by summer. In order to get the SkyWest CRJ-700s painted in their new livery, some of the flights may need to be temporarily operated with SkyWest 50-seat regional jets until all the CRJ-700s are repainted.

What will be the livery on the SkyWest CRJ-700s flown for Alaska?
Sprague: These SkyWest CRJ-700s will likely sport a version of the Alaska livery. A final decision on this is expected shortly.

Many of our competitors offer a first class cabin on their regional airline partners. Will there be a first class on these SkyWest-operated Alaska flights?
Sprague: Some the majors offer first class on their regional partners as a way to attract very lucrative international business and first class passenger connections. The vast majority of our customers on these SkyWest-operated routes are traveling domestic point-to-point and are very price sensitive. Our experience is that relatively few customers purchase first class seats on our short routes. We believe we’ll gain more revenue by having more seats in a single-class configuration, lowering our per-seat cost and allowing us to remain competitive with the likes of single-class competitors like Southwest and JetBlue.

Will SkyWest offer complimentary Northwest wines and microbrews like Horizon?
Sprague: Yes. This enhances the inflight experience for all customers, including those who would have preferred a first class cabin had it been available.

Why would we want to operate Horizon flights in the state of Alaska?
Harrison: In looking at the average demand for air travel on some intra-Alaska routes, we see in many cases that demand could be accommodated with a 76-seat Q400 and at a lower cost. Replacing Alaska mainline flying with the Q400 would allow us to reduce costs and lower fares on the routes and give us the opportunity to re-deploy 737s on other routes where they can be more profitable. Our commitment to air cargo in the state of Alaska remains unchanged, and that service will continue to be provided primarily by Alaska Airlines, due to the size and quantity of cargo involved.

When could we see the first Horizon Q400s in the state of Alaska and where would they operate?
Harrison: It’s too early to tell, because it’s not a done deal yet. Scheduling people in my group and operations folks at Horizon and Alaska are working up possible scenarios. Should we decide to proceed, it would likely involve two or three Q400s and would not take place before the end of this year. Once we arrive at any decisions, we’ll get the word out.

 

[WAVIT Inbound]

Where does this come from?

 

[Z_Pilot]

Where does this come from?

The inside.

 

[Sioux115]

Not good for the new hires at QX. Looks like we're losing 5 airframes. We only had a 5%

ROIC, no growth until we reach 10% ROIC. Since anything over 48 Q400's is considered

growth furloughs will be likely.

 

[Jar Jar]

alas, AK regionals join the whipsaw fun.

 

[onewithwings]

http://www.alaskasworld.com/newsroom/asnews/asstories/AS_20110125_050333.asp

There's the announcement. Retiring the brand, but it doesn't specifically say it will be an "express" or regional.

It will simply be under the "Alaska" brand with QX still being the "red headed step child" and now OO will be the "red headed freckle faced step child". One big happy family.

 

[tico]

Not good for the new hires at QX. Looks like we're losing 5 airframes. We only had a 5%

ROIC, no growth until we reach 10% ROIC. Since anything over 48 Q400's is considered

growth furloughs will be likely.

What Skywest has to say….

Why Alaska?
Alaska is a solid airline with an exceptional reputation for customer service and satisfaction. The deal fulfills a number of SkyWest’s growth objectives: organic growth, strong partners and additional upgrade and growth opportunities for our people. Given our operational credibility and experience, as well as our efficient economics, SkyWest is able to fill some of Alaska’s demand, and we are pleased to join forces with a strong airline with a similar culture and commitment to service.


What Horizon has to say….

The acquisition, announced today, of Horizon's last five CRJ-700s by SkyWest Airlines will help complete, after nearly three years, its transition to a single-type fleet by this summer. That means we’re going to be reducing our number of aircraft from 53 to 48. Shrinking never feels good, but it’s essential to achieving our financial goal. The $9 million we’ll save annually after shifting to an all-Q400 fleet remains crucial to Horizon’s future financial success.

Unfortunately, the shift to an all-Q400 fleet also means that there are some longer routes that Horizon cannot optimally serve for Alaska under its capacity purchase agreement (CPA). It’s for this reason that Alaska has contracted out CRJ-700 flying to SkyWest Airlines under a separate CPA.

What their chief pilot has to say.....

As we look six months down the road, the other wild card we are watching is what will happen to the remaining five CRJs. As of now they are in the schedule for the remainder of the year. However, if they are sold and the company does not exercise its options for five more Q400s, we could find ourselves in a place of over-staffing yet again.

"For the time being, we are planning no more new hire classes or upgrades, and are simply in a wait-and-see posture. Each week adds new information."

Plays like this......
take all jets and give them to skywest....pay them to fly them....give all pilots at Horizon a pay cut.....downgrade and furlough 5 airplanes worth of pilots.....make huge executive bonuses....have record profit.....Why would anyone go to Horizon, and if they could find any other job why would anyone stay at Horizon

 

[mittro]

Perfect.
Alaska flight operated by Skywest out of a USAirways gate with a QX jet.
Brilliant, just brilliant.

 

[Jetjockey]

And the whipsaw merry-go-round continues. Sad.

 

[russtgol]

I love it....

 

[Jetjockey]

I love it....

So says the Stooge (aka mega Troll).

 

[Thebadcat1313]

OK, lets start with this question "Who is the Eskimo on the tail"

My answer....the number one flight attendant at Alaska Airlines.

thanks for clearing that up, I always thought it was Mohammar Ghaddaffi.

 

[asayankee]

Jimmy Hendrix?

 

[Deadalus]

alas, AK regionals join the whipsaw fun.

Bingo! The guys that decided to make Horizon a career should be going,"oh %&$*".

 

[CKS747RCC]

OK, lets start with this question "Who is the Eskimo on the tail"

I was told it was William Seward. The dude who arranged the purchase of Alaska from the Russians.

 

[Jetjockey]

Bingo! The guys that decided to make Horizon a career should be going,"oh %&$*".

That goes for ALL regionals. Sooner or later, another airline with a lower CPA agreement comes along.