"Starting this fall, Horizon Air will be exiting six underperforming routes, two of which result in the complete exit of the Mammoth market. None of these changes are made without careful consideration of our guests and the communities we serve, as well as our people and our investors.
The impacted routes include:
Pasco (PSC)-Portland (PDX): Final Flight on Aug. 25
Bellingham (BLI)-PDX: Final Flight on Aug. 25
Eugene (EUG)-San Jose (SJC) – Final Flight on Aug. 25
Los Angeles (LAX) –Sun Valley (SUN): Final Flight on Oct. 14
LAX-Mammoth (MMH): Final Flight on Nov. 30
MMH-San Diego (SAN): Final Flight was Apr. 16 (seasonal exit will not be returning)
At the same time, we’re focused on increasing frequencies and capacity where it makes sense. Starting Aug. 25, we will add additional flying between Spokane (GEG) and Portland to provide nine daily departures, and between Seattle and Vancouver, BC (YVR), which will bring us to five daily Q-400 departures and one mainline departure. Starting Nov. 4 with the Winter schedule, we will increase both our Boise (BOI) to Portland service and Pasco to Seattle service by one trip each. Each will have seven daily departures.
Why this is necessary
“Our goal is to have a strong and sustainable Horizon Air. As a CPA carrier, we can bring more value to Air Group by adapting to match the needs of our guests and our largest customer, Alaska Airlines,” said Gary Beck, Horizon president and CEO.
Closing the Mammoth station was not an easy decision but is necessary as we face increased operational challenges. Only the Q400 is equipped with the right navigation resources to land there, and we have fewer available as we retire aircraft and optimize our regional flying to emphasize using E175s in southern California. Sun Valley faces similar challenges, but will still be served through Seattle.
In the cases of Bellingham and Pasco service to Portland, most guest are connecting in Portland to other destinations. We can operate more efficiently and offer more connecting options having them travel through Seattle. This also allows us to redirect the flight time and costs of a Portland service to other markets.
We launched the Eugene- San Jose market in November 2015, but as the market matured, the revenue gains have not kept pace with cost increases. The federal grant that supported this market ended in December 2017, compounding the financial challenges of continuing the route. Guests will still be able to connect to these cities through Portland."