Me about to board the Q400 in Seattle. I should have waved, presidential-style.
I have flown the route from Seattle to Reno many times in my life. From Reno Air back in the day, to Southwest, to America West to Alaska Airlines. The flight is easy, only about 1.5hrs, enough time to take off, get a drink and snacks and start the descent. In April 2008 Horizon Air took over the route for Alaska and since then, they have been the cheapest to fly. I actually prefer the flight on Horizon’s Q400’s versus Alaska’s Boeing 737 (or MD-80’s back in the day).
The main reason is, I love flying in smaller planes. It really lets the passenger connect with the flying experience. I think a lot of people do not like flying on smaller planes just for this reason. Unlike the larger planes, you get to board on the tarmac, which allows you to see the entire plane, not just a few inches around the door when you board in a jetway. The inside of the Q400 is set up in a 2-2 layout, so you always get a window or aisle. Of course I always go for the window, but I am happy to know if I don’t get one, I won’t be stuck in the middle.
Mount Rainier, just outside of Seattle, was one of many mountains you can see on the Seattle to Reno flight.
On this trip I was in a group of four people, which allowed me to get a few photos of me with the plane and even better photos from both sides of the plane while flying. The flight from Seattle to Reno is beautiful. From Mount Rainier to Crater Lake, if it isn’t cloudy, you are in for a real treat. The Q400’s fly quite a bit lower at about 25,000 feet versus 30,000 to 40,000 with larger aircraft and their wings are high, which means everyone has an awesome view.
We all checked in the day before online and only had carry-ons, so we didn’t have to wait in any Horizon lines, just put up with the security ones. Horizon has a semi-hybrid option between carry-on and checking your bags, called Ala Cart. Since the overhead bins are smaller than you would find on larger aircraft, not all carry-ons can fit in them. If yours cannot fit or you don’t want to lug it on the plane you can put your carry-on on a cart while boarding. They will put it on another cart when you arrive at your destination. It’s way quicker than having to wait in baggage claim not to mention, the Ala Cart option is free. If you do need to check your bag, it will cost you $20 per bag, up to 3 bags. Like their sister carrier, Alaska Airlines, Horizon also provides the 20 minute checked baggage guarantee.
Beautiful downtown Reno, just about to land.
Talking about Alaska Airlines, Horizon’s relationship with them is quite unique. Some people think of Horizon as Alaska’s regional carrier, but they are set up very differently. Both airlines have a parent company, Alaska Air Group which owns and manages both airlines. Most regionals fly for a larger airlines for fees and Horizon will sometimes fly for Alaska, but they mostly fly under their own brand. Horizon has their own marketing department, their own ads and unique brand of service. You will see the two airlines share a website together, but both logos are prominently displayed.
One thing that does make Horizon unique is offering free, regional wines and micro-brews, ah yea…can’t miss out on this. Our flight left at 7:40am, but that didn’t stop us from trying out some of that free local wine and beer. I mean, come-on it was the blog right?! Horizon is also offering free snack-packs on their Seattle to Portland flight, but I have yet been able to experience that first hand.
Passengers were able to de-board from the front and back of the Q400, making it super quick. Employees are getting the Ala Cart bags out.
A passenger in our group (we shall call her “Rita”) was a little apprehensive about flying on a smaller aircraft. I know many others out there have that same fear. However, I quickly pointed out that Horizon Air is extremely safe and has never had a fatality since they started flying in 1981 and haven’t had any sort of incident since 1990. That made Rita feel much more comfortable and after the flight she very much loved her Horizon experience (maybe the glass of wine she had at 8am helped too).
The Horizon Q400’s might be a bit slower than jet airliners, but they are much more cost effective and friendly for the environment. Horizon has green stickers on each of their planes touting how green they are and even painted one of their Q400’s entirely green (can you see “Shrek” as they call it here or here?)
I definitely get excited to fly on Horizon and flying on the Q400’s and hope that some of you can feel a bit more at ease flying in smaller planes in the future.
It just looks so easy. This video shows the making of a British Airways Boeing 777-300ER from first parts to first flight. This video is one of the best time-lapse one I have seen with stellar music and an amazing plane staring!
What are you up to this Monday from 2pm to 6pm? Well if you are in the area of Seattle-Tacoma International Airport, come check out Alaska Airline’s Board Room…there will be a special culinary event going on.
This week, I am actually visiting their Board Room twice. The first on Monday to see how one of these special events goes and then on Thursday to get my hands dirty and actually work for a bit in a Boardroom and share what that experience is like. I am embarrassed to admit this, but I haven’t had a lot of experience in airline board rooms and want to learn a little bit more what they are all about.
The event on Monday is free for Board Room members or you can purchase a day pass for only $40. There will be good food and wine for you to sample. If you can make it, be sure to let me know so we can chat!
Alaska Airlines 737-800 with special Boeing livery (N512AS)
Alaska Airlines, Boeing, Portland International Airport, Seattle-Tacoma International Airport, Spokane International Airport and Washington State University are working together to promote aviation biofuel development in the Pacific Northwest. The regional assessment is called the Sustainable Aviation Fuels Northwest (SAFN).
The group hopes to examine all phases of developing an aviation biofuel industry and the funding is being split between the involved parties. SAFN will be looking at local biomass sources that can be found in the Pacific Northwest.
“By transitioning to a more fuel-efficient fleet and adopting technology to follow more direct flight paths, Alaska Airlines has made significant strides in minimizing the environmental impact of our flying in the communities we serve,” said Alaska Air Group Chairman and CEO Bill Ayer. “Through this initiative, we are joining other key stakeholders in our region to explore the development of alternatives to jet fuel that could further reduce our carbon footprint.”
The project is starting this month and is expected to take about six months. Air travel currently generates approximately 2 percent of man-made carbon emissions, and the industry has set aggressive goals to lower its carbon footprint, which includes the use of aviation biofuel when it becomes available.
This is only one of several regional biofuel projects that Boeing is currently working with. Curious to find out what Boeing hopes to achieve in this project, I spoke with Terrance Scott, who is with Boeing Environmental Communications. He explained there are four ways to help airlines curb their carbon emissions. The first is product development, where Boeing creates new, more fuel efficient aircraft, like the Boeing 787 and the Boeing 747-8. The second is to retrofit currently flying aircraft with performance packages, winglets and other items. Third is to change the way airlines fly and operate aircraft in order to be more efficient. The last way is the type of fuel used to power the aircraft.
Boeing has helped or will be helping to set up similar regional groups in the Middle East, China, Australia and Mexico. The hope is to create a regional portfolio of fuel sources to create aviation biofuel. Scott told me that Boeing wants to motivate people to find answers, but is not looking to get into the biofuels business themselves. “Boeing doesn’t want to get into the fuel business, but we want to serve as a catalyst.” Their plan is to bring people together, to start talking and working on creating sources for biofuel.
The use of biofuels have already been successfully tested. Boeing has worked with Air New Zealand and Continental to show airlines can successfully use biofuels. Now that biofuel has been proven to be a good alternative to legacy jet fuel, the shift is being made to find a sustainable, economically feasible fuel source. They want to make sure that a fuel source won’t compete with any food source (ie corn and E85).
Most likely any biofuel will cost more than jetfuel today. Would passengers be willing to pay a little bit more to fly green? I think there are some that would, but I am not sure if there would be enough.
