USA: Alaska Airlines Goes To El Paso

Alaska Airlines launched operations from El Paso (ELP) on 19 February, with the carrier commencing flights to the airport from San Diego (SAN) and Seattle-Tacoma (SEA).

The airline will operate both routes daily using its fleet of E175s. There is no direct competition on the 2,198-kilometre sector from Seattle-Tacoma, however Southwest Airlines already offers eight weekly flights on the 1,109-kilometre link between San Diego and El Paso.

According to airport data, El Paso handled just over 3.26 million passengers in 2018, with this representing an 11% increase versus the 2.93 million that were handled during the previous year.

Alaska Airlines becomes the airport’s seventh scheduled airline, joining Southwest Airlines (46% market share of passengers in 2018), American Airlines (31%), United Airlines (13%), Delta Air Lines (6.9%), Frontier Airlines (1.9%) and Allegiant Air (1.5%).

Alaska Airlines is a major United States airline headquartered in SeaTac, Washington, within the Seattle metropolitan area of the state of Washington.

It is the fifth-largest airline in the United States when measured by fleet size, scheduled passengers carried, and number of destinations served.

Alaska, together with its regional partners, operates a large domestic route network, primarily focused on connecting cities on the West Coast of the United States to over one hundred destinations in the contiguous United States, Alaska, Hawaii, Canada, Costa Rica, and Mexico.

Alaska Airlines is not a member of any of the three major airline alliances. However, it has codeshare agreements with 17 airlines, including member airlines of oneworld, SkyTeam, Star Alliance, and unaffiliated airlines.

Regional service is operated by sister airline Horizon Air and independent carrier SkyWest Airlines.

The airline operates its largest hub at Seattle–Tacoma International Airport, and it also operates hubs in Anchorage, Los Angeles, Portland, San Francisco and focus cities at San Diego and San Jose.

As of 2018, the airline employs over 21,000 people and been ranked by J. D. Power and Associates as having the highest customer satisfaction of the traditional airlines for eleven consecutive years.

Through the airline's parent company, Alaska Air Group, it is publicly traded on the New York Stock Exchange (NYSE) under the symbol ALK and is part of the Dow Jones Transportation Average and the S&P 500 Index.

For the fiscal year 2017, Alaska Airlines reported earnings of US$1.028 billion, with an annual revenue of US$7.933 billion, an increase of 33.8% over the previous fiscal cycle. Alaska Airlines shares traded at over $63 per share, and its market capitalization was valued at US$7.5 billion in October 2018.

Alaska Airlines has 23,400 employees. Alaska's pilot group is represented by the Air Line Pilots Association, International and its over 5,872 flight attendants are represented by the Association of Flight Attendants.

Since May 2005, the airline's baggage-handling operations have been outsourced to Menzies Aviation. This was in response to rejection of a contract between IAM the union which represented the baggage handlers, and Alaska Airlines.

It also allowed the airline to save an estimated $13 million a year. In late 2016, Alaska Airlines created a wholly owned subsidiary McGee Air Services which would compete with Menzies Aviation for ground handling contracts in select Alaska cities.


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USA: Horizon Air Staff Crashes Plane After Stealing It From Sea-Tac International Airport

Alaska Airlines has confirmed that a Horizon Airlines Bombardier Q400 that had an unauthorized takeoff from Sea-Tac International Airport around 8 p.m. has gone down near Ketron Island in Pierce County.

FAA, FBI and U.S. National Transportation Safety Board officials are investigating the crash of a Horizon Air Bombardier Q400 turboprop in woodland on Ketron Island near Tacoma, Washington, around 1.5 hr after it was stolen by an airline employee, believed to be a ground service agent.

The incident began around 8pm Pacific on Aug 10, when a Q400 made an unauthorized takeoff from Seattle’s SeaTac International airport.

Although details remain scant at this time, operations at SeaTac were temporarily shut down and two Air National Guard F-15Cs, call sign Rock 41 and 42, from the 142nd Fighter Wing in Portland, Oregon, were scrambled to intercept the Q400. A U.S.

Air Force KC-135R tanker was also dispatched from Fairchild AFB to support the F-15s.

Just after 10pm Pacific, Horizon parent company Alaska Airlines tweeted confirmation that a Horizon Air Q400 that had an unauthorized takeoff from SeaTac around 8pm has gone down near Ketron Island in Pierce County, WA.

We’re working to confirm who was on board, we believe there were no guests or crew on board other than the person operating the plane.

Pierce County Sheriff’s Department also tweeted that the suspect is confirmed a suicidal male. Acted alone he is 29-year-old Pierce County resident. We are working background on him now.

Officials indicate the aircraft crashed due to pilot action and was not forced or shot down.

The airline is working to confirm who was on board, but it is believed that there were no passengers or crew on board other than the person operating the plane.

Alaska Airlines believes a ground service agent employed by Horizon Air was the individual responsible for flying the Horizon Q400 without clearance from Sea-Tac International Airport around 8 p.m. tonight.

The plane, which was taken from a maintenance position and was not scheduled for passenger flight, crashed about an hour later in a wooded area on Ketron Island in rural Pierce County.

No ground structures were involved at the crash site.

Military jets were scrambled from Portland, but it does not appear that these jets were involved in the crash of the Horizon aircraft.

First responders are at the crash site. Appropriate government agencies, including NTSB, FAA and FBI, have been notified.

A brief statement from Constance von Muehlen of Horizon Air regarding tonight’s incident:

Good evening, I’m Constance von Muehlen, Horizon Air chief operating officer. I’m sorry to share with you this evening that at approximately 8 p.m., one of our Q400 airplanes made an unauthorized takeoff from Sea-Tac Airport. We believe it was taken by a single Horizon Air employee and that no other passengers or crew were onboard. Shortly thereafter, it crashed on Ketron Island by South Tacoma. Our hearts are with the families of the individual aboard as well as all of our Alaska Air and Horizon Air employees. We will provide more information as it becomes available.

Shortly after he stole an airplane from his employer, Horizon Air ground service agent Richard Russell barreled down a runway, took off and flew the two-engine turboprop above the Puget Sound, flying in dramatic loops before crashing in a wooded area.

Washington State governor Jay Inslee later confirmed the events in a statement. There are still a lot of unknowns surrounding tonight’s tragic incident of a stolen Horizon Air plane from SeaTac Airport.

The responding fighter pilots flew alongside the aircraft and we were ready to do whatever was needed to protect us, but in the end, the man flying the stolen plane crashed on Ketron Island.

The aircraft, registered N449QX, was delivered to Horizon in June 2012, and, according to the flight tracking website Flightradar24.com, had earlier that day operated scheduled flights to and from Victoria, on Canada’s Vancouver Island.

Prior to crashing, the aircraft was filmed conducting extreme maneuvers over the Puget Sound, including a barrel roll and inverted vertical dive culminating in a high g pull-out just a few feet above the water’s surface.


Tourism Observer

USA: Pilot Shortage Causes Horizon Airlines To Cut Flights From Colorado Springs

Horizon Air operating for Alaska Airlines will cancel its 1x daily Seattle service from Colorado Springs due to a pilot shortage.

The service is expected to end on November 4, the airport has announced.

Horizon’s operations have been severely hampered this year by a lack of qualified pilots for its fleet of fifty-two Dash 8-400s and ten EMB-175s.

Portland Int’l, OR and Seattle Tacoma Int’l services were reduced in July following the forced cancellation of more than 318 flights in March.

The airline has also deferred delivery of six EMB-175s as it does not have enough pilots to fly them.

While we are disappointed that the Colorado Springs Airport is losing service from Alaska Airlines in November, we are aggressively pursuing other carriers to provide service to Seattle, an important destination for our region, said Greg Phillips, the airport’s Director of Aviation, adding that Horizon’s load factors had been around 83% for its Seattle flights.



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USA: Pilot Shortage Causes Horizon To Cancel 6% Of Flights In August

A shortage of pilots has led US regional carrier Horizon Air to cancel a significant number of flights this summer, including some 6% of the airline’s flights in August, parent company Alaska Air Group confirms.

Though the company says the cancellations reflect a broad industry shortage of cockpit crew, Horizon’s pilot union lays blame at the carrier for policies that it says failed to address a looming shortage.

Horizon made the cancellations on 29 June, proactively in a move that will enable Horizon to operate reliably the remainder of its network.

The cancellations reflect just 2% of August flights operated by all of Alaska’s subsidiaries, which include Horizon, Alaska Airlines and Virgin America, the company says.

Like the rest of the industry, Horizon Air is facing a shortage of pilots caused by attrition and unprecedented Alaska Air Group growth, says Alaska.

Things are looking up for Horizon. June and July pilot new-hire classes are full and we’ve stepped up our recruiting efforts.

But it will take time for the new recruitment efforts… to bear fruit,Alaska adds, noting that it expects to hire 300 new pilots in 2017.

Horizon primarily operates Bombardier Q400s – it has 52 of the type, according to Flight Fleets Analyzer.

FlightGlobal schedules data show those aircraft will operate some 11,400 flights in August, which would put the number of cancellations at nearly 700.

Horizon also has six Embraer 175s in its fleet, though monthly flight figures for those aircraft are unavailable.

To address the shortage, Horizon is paying bonuses up to $20,000 for new Q400 pilots and up to $10,000 for new E175 pilots, says Alaska.

Horizon also pays pilots enrolled at some flight schools up to $11,000 in expenses, and a recently-amended pilot agreement has increased starting pay to $40 hourly, up from $30 hourly, Alaska says.

Horizon is also increasing its number of reserve pilots, deploying management pilots to line flying, increasing its number of recruiters to six from two, and adding more pilots to supervise training, Alaska says.

Horizon is even offering 200% pay to existing pilots who will fly additional hours, confirms Greg Unterseher, director of representation at union Airline Professionals Association (APA), a division of the International Brotherhood of Teamsters.

Many regional US airlines in recent years have cited a shortage of pilots, and many have attributed it to a 2013 rule requiring commercial pilots have 1,500h of flight time, up from 250h.

The APA says Horizon has failed to address the problem.

The situation at Horizon is a result of the company’s long-standing refusal to confront the depth and causes of the pilot shortage, says the APA in a statement.

For more than a year and a half, pilots raised concerns about this unfolding crisis with management. But despite these efforts, the company continued to pursue policies that only exacerbated the problem.

The union has argued that low overall pay contributed the pilot shortage, and Unterseher says Horizon’s lack of a formal pilot flow-through agreement further hinders hiring.

Such agreements would give Horizon pilots a defined path to advance to larger aircraft operated by Alaska, he says.

The union had also until recently criticised Horizon for paying bonuses to new hires, arguing instead that the carrier should raise overall pay rates.

Indeed, in January news broke that the APA and Teamsters sued Horizon over the issue, claiming bonuses violated its labour agreement.

That issue was resolved when pilots ratified a new contract in May that enables Alaska to pay up to $25,000 in a mix of bonuses to new hires, but also requires the carrier pay all existing pilots $15,000, Unterseher says.

In a 15 June securities filing Alaska said it recorded a one-time $9 million expense related to the new pilot deal.

The union also opposes the 200% pay incentive to existing pilots, calling those moves “short-term gimmicks and band aids”, says Unterseher.

“The problem is, they do it and [then] they take it away at their whim,” he says. “That’s what’s gotten us into the problem we are in right now.”


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USA: Alaska Airlines Will Hire 2,300 Frontline Jobs In 2017

A forecasted more than 2,300 frontline jobs will be up for grabs at Alaska Airlines and Horizon Air throughout 2017.

The growing airlines are looking for candidates to fill hundreds of flight attendant, pilot, reservations and customer service jobs throughout the airlines’ route network.

Jobs will be posted to alaskaair.jobs and horizonair.jobs throughout the year.

More than 2,000 of the positions do not require previous airline experience.

“This is an exciting time for our airlines – we are growing and that means more new job opportunities in the communities we serve.” says Laura Fowler, Managing Director Talent Acquisition & Inclusion.

“Our team is on the lookout for people who want to be a part of a great culture and help create an airline people love.”

Alaska Airlines/Horizon Air 2017 hiring forecast:
- 300 pilots
- 900 flight attendants
- 540 customer, ground and passenger service agents
- 600 reservations agents (call center and work-from-home positions)

At least 250 of the jobs are earmarked for the Seattle area, with about 150 based in Boise, Idaho and another 100 in Phoenix, Arizona. The rest are spread throughout Alaska’s route network.

In addition to frontline and customer-facing roles, the growth of the company will require us to grow our corporate and support teams as well. Look for opportunities this year in information technology, revenue management, human resources, finance and other corporate roles.

Reasons you should apply to work at Alaska Airlines this year

Generous bonuses: Last month $100 million was distributed to nearly 16,000 employees throughout Alaska’s route network for meeting or exceeding company-wide goals for safety, customer satisfaction, cost control and profit.

For most employees, this equated to about an additional month’s pay, and is in addition to $15 million in quarterly bonuses paid for achieving monthly on-time and customer satisfaction goals.

Flight privileges: Alaska employees enjoy unlimited standby travel for themselves, as well as their spouses, parents and dependents.

Culture: When Alaska’s and Horizon’s recruiters set out to fill positions, they’re looking for people who are passionate about creating remarkable experiences for our guests by going beyond expectations and doing the right thing.

Since acquiring Virgin America in December 2016, Alaska has adopted the younger airline’s purpose statement: Creating an airline people love.

It’s also an airline that people love working for. See for yourself by browsing the hashtag #iamalaska.

Growth: 2017 is an exciting year for Alaska Air Group.

The recent acquisition of San Francisco-based Virgin America, the new Embraer E175 jets that will be delivered to Horizon beginning this spring and Alaska’s new flights to Havana, Cuba are just a few of the major developments creating new opportunities in 2017.

There has never been a more exciting time to join the team.

Looming Pilot Shortage Accross America

Piloting a jetliner was once a glamorous profession. Then came the 9/11 terror attacks, airline bankruptcies and pension cuts. And entry-level pilots worked for peanuts.

But now the pendulum is swinging back. Regional airlines across America — including the Northwest’s Horizon Air — are grappling with a looming pilot shortage.

Horizon currently has about 650 pilots on staff.

“We’re looking for roughly 100 to 120 pilots per year that we need to keep adding in for growth as well as to cover attrition,” said LaMar Haugaard, director of pilot development and recruiting at Horizon Air in Portland.

Horizon Air is part of Seattle-based Alaska Air Group, the parent company of Alaska Airlines as well. They are just one player in a global industry, which the Boeing Company estimated in 2014 will need 558,000 commercial airline pilots over the next 20 years.

Aviation economist Dan Akins of the consulting firm Flightpath Economics described the regional airline sector as “the tip of the spear” for feeling the pilot shortage.

“There aren’t enough pilots being supplied to the industry to sustain it,” Akins said in an interview. He contended that smaller cities risk losing air service unless the current trajectory changes.

“I think we are in the very early stages of a really hard landing for the industry,” Akins said.

The big shortage

So how did airline pilots get in short supply?

“It really is a perfect coming together of growth within the industry,” Haugaard said.

That’s combined with the beginnings of an anticipated wave of retirements from the major airlines, who then backfill by plucking pilots from regional carriers. The Federal Aviation Administration requires commercial airline pilots to retire at age 65.

Then add to that, a big increase in the training requirements needed to get an air transport pilot license. That came from the FAA in 2013 in the wake of a commuter airline crash in upstate New York.

A lot of commercial airline pilots used to come over from the Air Force too, but Haugaard said the military does not train as many pilots as it used to.

“Marry that up with fewer and fewer people getting into the industry — mainly due to becoming cost-prohibitive on the training side — you have shortage that will come from that,” Haugaard said. “And we are certainly seeing that now.”

Perks for the aspiring pilot

So now Horizon and its peers are inking deals with university aviation programs to ramp up pilot development. The arrangements include tuition reimbursement or a big signing bonus for aspiring pilots. In exchange, those students commit to fly with a certain carrier for at least two years once they’re qualified.

The stepped-up recruiting by various airlines led Teamsters Local 1224 Vice President Mark Niles to observe, “It’s almost a game of one-upmanship right now.”

The veteran Horizon pilot said he had heard of rivals offering bonuses in excess of $20,000 to get new pilots in the door. Job offers can include a combination of signing bonus, a later retention bonus and advancement preferences to command bigger jets.

Horizon management and its pilots union are currently in talks about how to sweeten the airline’s offerings to stay competitive.

A recently signed pilot development deal between Horizon Air and Central Washington University included one-time $7,500 “stipends” for up to 17 aviation students per year. In addition, Horizon donated a $10,000 desktop flight simulator.

Central Washington University Aviation Chair Sundaram Nataraja foresees major enrollment growth in his department to fill the pipeline.

“We want to grow this to a bigger level,” Nataraja said. “In five years down the road, we want to have a total of 1,000 students in the aviation department. Currently we have 200.”

Nataraja said parents still get wide-eyed when he explains the cost of a professional pilot education. It runs $80,000-$100,000 over four years, chiefly due to the fees for one-on-one flight training. A typical student may graduate with considerable debt. But thanks to the newfound, stiff competition for aviation graduates, entry level pay at regional airlines has risen significantly over the past year.

Student instructors with a first officer job awaiting them estimated their starting pay would be in the $30,000-$35,000 range. A few years ago, a freshly minted co-pilot at a regional airline might have earned less than $25,000 per year to start. As cockpit crew members gain experience and move up the career ladder, their pay soars into the six figures.

‘A dream come true’ in Ellensburg

Tyler Holmen, 18, of Redmond, Washington, knows what he wants to do in life.

“Flying has just always fascinated me,” Holmen said. “I kind of settled on it at an early age. It’s kind of a dream come true here.”

Holmen and fellow aviation students at Central Washington could hardly have picked a better time to become professional pilots.

Flight instructor Gage Geist, 22, graduated from CWU in late spring. He’s now giving flight lessons to undergrads, which helps Geist rack up the flight hours needed to qualify for an airline job. A first officer slot awaits him at his chosen Horizon Air as soon as he logs 1,000 flight hours.

“By the time I graduated, I had three conditional job offers,” Geist said.

He said that’s a big change from even just a few years ago.

“When I first started off, it was once in a blue moon we would have a recruiter come by — maybe once every other month,” Geist said. “Now it’s almost every other week.”

It takes a dispatcher to manage the waves of instructors and students rotating through five flight simulators and a fleet of single engine Cessnas used as flight trainers at Ellensburg’s Bowers Field Airport.

New training programs

Inside the training center, a bulletin board is covered with recruiting posters and ads from regional airlines such as Horizon Air, SkyWest and Mesa Airlines. You may know these better flying under their alternate identities as Alaska Airlines, Delta Connection or United Express.

The competing airlines gush about being the place where “your career takes off” and how quickly you can “upgrade” to a parent company’s mainline jets.

Until this year, CWU was the only public university in the Pacific Northwest offering a four-year bachelor’s degree as a professional pilot. A bunch of community colleges in Oregon and Washington have two-year pilot training programs with transfer options to meet the airlines’ preference for a bachelor’s degree.

Earlier this year, Green River College in Auburn, Washington, introduced a four-year bachelor’s degree track. The program’s enrollment filled right away according to Aviation Department Chair George Comollo.

Comollo said his department was in talks to set up a direct recruitment pathway with Horizon that would include the one-time $7,500 stipend and a guaranteed cockpit job for selected students. He said SkyWest Airlines might be the next partner to seek clearance to land on campus.