Horizon Airlines, the regional carrier owned by Alaska Airlines that operates a number of flights out of the Boise Airport has an old look.
Well. Make that a new look. That is like an old look.
Horizon, which is a subsidiary of Alaska Airlines, is rolling out a new fleet of Embraer 175 jets, and is giving them a retro paint job. The new look – the livery as aviation buffs call it – features orange, red, and brown strips that go all around the jet. That might remind you of the old-school Horizon jets that first started landing in Boise in 1983, which featured a similar look.
Horizon phased out the older turboprop planes, with the DHC Dash-8/Q400 leaving the fleet earlier this year. In its place, Horizon has been swapping over to the Embraer 175’s, adding eight more last year, and an option to purchase an additional 13, according to a news release last summer. The transition began in 2016, according to the airline.
The Embrarer, like the Dash-8, has a “two by two” seat configuration, with no middle seats.
Horizon Air launched in 1981, and in 1983 purchased Transwestern Airlines, bringing it to Boise. Alaska purchased Horizon in 1986, and operated it separately. In 2011, it moved to a new model where Horizon operates and maintains its planes, but Alaska handles the scheduling, marketing, and sales of seats. Horizon planes got a new look that emphasized the Alaska branding and green and blue coloring.
Horizon was known for a series of quirky commercials in the 1990s featuring actor Steven Weber, who starred on the aviation-themed sitcom Wings. In one, Weber touted Horizon’s cart service – where fliers could put their luggage on a cart in one city, and find it waiting on another cart when they arrived at their destination.