Horizon Airlines Flights

The Horizon Planes are making hundred of flights this season due to lack of pilots.

Last months lack of flights became a serious problem when Horizon was compelled to suspend more than 318 flights because there were not enough flyers to take all its aircraft. The Alaska Air Group's Horizon Air carrier, which carries short-haul passenger services throughout the Pacific Northwest and beyond, is cancelling its schedules this coming summer due to a serious lack of aircraft flying its turbo-prop aircraft A400.

Deficiency became a crises last months when Horizon was compelled to cancele more than 318 flights because it did not have enough pilot to carry all its aircraft. As a reaction to this, the carrier is now cancelling flights early in late summer and considering whether to postpone its timetables for the remainder of the year.

Example where a trip is cancelled on each of these routes: It also sends managerial staff who are skilled flyers to pilot the aircraft to minimize cancellation and offers dual payment to additional flights. Approximately 17,000 travelers who have already reserved flights between 4 and 3 August and who have now been cancelled will receive automatic transfers to Horizon or Alaska flights departing sooner or later on the same date.

The Alaska Air spokesperson Bobbie Egan said these travellers should already have been sent an e-mail notifying them of the aircraft modification. It said Horizon has been targeting cancellation for itineraries on which the carrier operates several flights a day. What is more, it has been targeting cancellation of flights on which the carrier operates several flights a week. "Horizontizon has made a strategy to ensure wherever possible that we can transfer these visitors with minimum impact," she said.

Cancelled flights representing 6. 2% of all Horizon flights in August, Egan said. She said as an example that on each of these itineraries, a plane is cancelled: - Portland and Sacramento, California, now with 3 or 4 flights a day. Employing nearly 3,700 staff, Horizon services 45 major metropolitan areas in Alaska, California, Colorado, Idaho, Montana, Oregon, Utah and Washington, as well as Alberta and British Columbia.

Last year, when Indianapolis-based Republic Airways filed for Chapter 11 insolvency, it largely blamed its funding difficulties on cancelled flights due to a lack of skilled pilot personnel. Addressing the Horizon issue, Campbell said in his remarks that in additon to the timetable reductions, the company is providing "200 per cent premiums pay" to planes flying additional flights beyond their regular times.

Horizon's air traffic management crew is also raising the number of pilot support staff - the so-called "check airmen" - from 19 to 34. "This should accelerate the arrival of new pilot who need to have such a cockpit instructor when they start to fly a new plane model.

Campbell said the company has increased its hiring personnel from two to six and is working with flight training colleges on it. Offering dual payment for extra hours has led to a surprise dispute with Teamsters Local 1224. In April, Horizon's and Teamster' managers reached an agreement on a new agreement that provides for 150 per cent rather than 200 per cent payment for extra hours.

To the contrary, in a note to the Horizon leaders last weekend, the trade unions refused to allow the airline to pay more than the treaty requires and asked the leaders not to tolerate what they described as "200% bribery" in order to take additional flights. Teamsters Local 1224's representative manager Greg Unterseher said in an interviewer that the trade unions object to the company's unilateral change to the contractual conditions.

Said one aggravating element for Horizon is that young entry-level drivers want to continue their career with jet aircraft rather than turbo-prop aircraft like the Q400, which make up most of the Horizon family. Joe Sprague, Alaska Air's former chief executive officer and chief executive officer, said in an Alaska Air Thursday newspaper article that Alaska Air's trade unions had criticized the company for failing to proactively address the lack of a leader.

It offers up to $20,000 in recruitment bonus for 400 Q aircraft - $15,000 after two month of education and $5,000 more after one year of servicing. Sperague said an encouragement was that Horizon's flight courses, which offer instruction in the aircraft they will be flying, are full for June and July, with 30 students going through each of these month.

Although Campbell's note makes it clear that June was a poor cancellation period, and outlines the August schedule, it only briefly discusses what is to come in July, a very bustling vacation time. It is clear that cancellation rates will increase in the coming months, and Campbell asks staff to be friendly with the affected people.