PetRock

Change is afoot for sure. Knowing AAG, this might be "a bit bumpy" for us over the next few years.

I feel really bad for the super small towns that only make sense with the Q likely seeing their service levels reduced or going away entirely.

DashAviator

I think that this switch to a single fleet was inevitable. I'll miss flying the Q400. I think the big losers here could be the smaller communities in our route system (Sun Valley, Wenatchee, Walla Walla, Yakima, Idaho Falls, Redding). The Air Group may decide that it doesn't make any economic sense to operate into these smaller cities and pull the plug instead.

A couple of other concerns: Will any bases be closed? This seems inevitable if we shrink to a fleet of 35-40 airplanes (which seems to be the projected number). I think Medford's a done deal, but I could also even see Portland on the chopping block. The other gorilla in the room: Is Horizon a viable airline with only 35-40 jets? A few years ago, Alaska sold off all of our CRJ700's to Skywest... then promptly hired Skywest to do feeder flying for the Air Group using the SAME airplanes. What's to stop Alaska from selling off the jets and closing down Horizon? I don't see this happening... yet. Skywest is having it's own staffing issues, and Air Group management likes the idea of keeping pilot wages down by pitting Horizon against Skywest.

Interesting times for sure.

Round Luggage

Wait what is happening?

METT

<Will see if this post goes to mod approval~if not timely, that is why…>

Losing the Q by end of 2023. Going to E only (numbers by end of ‘23 not currently known). Both pilots and mechanics are the issue (and quite honestly new pax weights are a tertiary factor too).

So long new EFBs…you were the best pipe dream.

cactusflyer

Horizon sent an email at 4AM announcing they're retiring the entire Q400 fleet by late 2023, in a desperate attempt to boost the stock price.

At present, we only have 12 more E-175's on order (by 2025), so even if all of those airplanes showed up in 2022/23, we'd be shrinking the fleet by about 1/3.

Management admits that minor details like "How many airplanes will we have?" "What happens to bases?" or "Is Horizon shutting down?" had received absolutely zero consideration prior to the announcement, so no one has any clue what's happening, but it looks a heck of a lot like the beginning of the end for Horizon.

Parking the Q fleet is being spun as a way to deal with a pilot shortage, but since anyone hired after today will see their seniority be absolutely stagnant until 2025 at best (and it'll likely go backwards), they likely made the problem worse, since "Come work for a rapidly shrinking airline that might be shutting down in 18 months!" is a pretty bad recruiting pitch.

Mitchell Gant

This has a strangely Compass Airlines feel to it, except Compass was losing a partner and not a airframe.

leftondelta

As someone comically pointed out in the FB group... Don't give up hope yet. Those new EFBs will be installed for their last ferry flight to Arizona.

cactusflyer

The difference was that Delta and American had thought out at least some long term consequences of their decision, and AAG clearly hasn't, so Horizon will suffer a "death by stupid", since a completely run airline wouldn't be parking half it's fleet in the middle of a huge travel boom.

The complete inability of QX management to answer even basic questions like "how many airplanes will we have after this?" indicates to me that AAG made this decision entirely as an attempt to boost the stock price short term, and there was absolutely zero planning done beyond that.

clearandcold

This kind of feels like they decided they won’t be able to keep up with attrition and already aren’t flying some of the fleet. Might as well take the extra hit and go single fleet instead of spin their wheels in the sand trying to keep up with ever increasing attrition.

bmundle

Soooo...is applying to Horizon not the best idea? I'm about 6 months out and was looking at applying. Super bummed to hear about the Q400, I was thinking that would be the plane I'd try to get on.