Alaska Airlines Horizon Air has unveiled a stunning Embraer E175 retrojet

userNovember 21, 2022

November 18 of this year Embraer delivered its first new Embraer to Horizon Air, the regional arm of Alaska Airlines ERJ-175 (E175) from 2019. This should continue the renewal of Horizon Air’s fleet and bring it closer to becoming a one-of-a-kind operator.

The livery has a wide band of deceptive lines that go from maroon to orange. It resembles the coat worn by Horizon Air’s very first aircraft – the Fokker 27 – when the airline was launched in 1981. It also features the circular sunrise detail that can be seen on the tail of this very first aircraft. A keen eye can also spot a nod to Horizon’s heritage in the registration number – it ends in MK.

SIMPLE VIDEO OF THE DAY

This is unusual because all other Horizon aircraft follow the N***QX format. MK is a nod to Horizon Air founder Milt Qualt, a man considered a pioneer in the Pacific Northwest aviation industry. Sadly, Milt passed away in May 2008.

Photo credit: Alaska Airlines

Important delivery

Simple Flying spoke with Horizon Air President Joe Sprague about taking delivery of this aircraft. he told us

“This is an important delivery for Horizon. This is the first new E175 that Horizon has received since 2019. Even more importantly, this is the first E175 delivery since our announcement earlier this year that we would be phasing out the Q400 turboprops and moving to a single E175 fleet.”

Sprague also noted that Horizon is coming to the end of one of the most challenging years in regional aviation history. The airline is grappling with reduced flights due to a pilot shortage while also dealing with the biggest fleet change in the airline’s history. He added,

“The resilient team at Horizon has performed well despite these changes. We are the regional industry leader in year-to-date construction completion rates and have achieved high performance on time and in guest satisfaction.”

“This level of performance is as much a part of Horizon’s proud heritage as the retro livery of our new aircraft.”

Transition to turboprop operation

Starting with the Fokker F27 in 1981, the airline’s fleet consisted of regional jets, but there were always turboprops as well. This era will soon end as the airline transitions to an all-jet fleet DHC Dash-8 is planned to be phased out.

2MP_of_Dash-8-400 from Alaska clearing runway lights in crosswind_01 — Photo: Joe Kunzler | Simple flight

Horizon Air makes transition to Embraer ERJ-175LR fleet. The aircraft cruises at 495 mph (797 km/h) and can fly as high as 41,000 feet or 12,497 meters. Unlike the aircraft they replace, the ERJ-175LRs come with Wi-Fi and three-class seating versus single-class seating.

Sprague added that this delivery is significant because it demonstrates that even as the Q400s retire from the fleet, the airline continues to rebuild. Most recently, At the Farnborough Air Show, Alaska Airlines added an eight-firm, 13-variant order for the E175, they will all go to Horizon. Sprague added,

“It seemed fitting to honor our past with an aircraft that will take us into the future.”

The rollout of the Dash-8-400 continues

Horizon Air’s de Haviland of Canada Dash-8-400 service continues to wind down, with nearly half of the airline’s fleet now either in storage or decommissioned. Recently a Dash-8-400 was donated to Portland Community College (PCC) to train future aeronautical engineers. Dash was the last Alaska Airlines plane to arrive “Icicles” livery. was established in 1991 and began to cease in 2016.

The E175 is not Horizon’s first retrojet. There was a Dash-8-400 in the retro Horizon Air livery flying around under the name “meatball” with the registry N421QX, which also has the old 1981 livery. But with Embraer soon to leave the park, it will remain to take its place as a reminder of where this successful regional airline came from.

What do you think? Please share in the comments.