Shuffles Planes To West Coast Network
Should we use the planes to help a competitor... or use them for
ourselves? For now, at least, Horizon Air officials have chosen the
latter... by ending their 12-year contract with Frontier
Airlines.
Horizon, which has been operating nine CRJ-700 regional jets
(RJs) as Frontier JetExpress since January 2004, will begin
returning its 70-seat Bombardier CRJ700 jets to current and new
routes throughout Horizon's West Coast network as the two airlines
conclude the contract.
Wednesday's announcement follows Frontier's recent news that it
is seeking to grow its RJ fleet from the current nine aircraft, to
up to 20 RJs. As Aero-News reported,
Frontier also agreed to purchase 10 Bombardier Q400 turboprops to
use on some regional routes.
Representatives with Horizon say upon reviewing the subsequent
request-for-proposal (RFP) issued by Frontier, Horizon concluded
the investment in the additional aircraft needed to support
Frontier JetExpress's expansion would compete for capital that
could be invested in growing the Horizon Air/Alaska Airlines
network -- and the nine aircraft assigned to JetExpress would be
besty utilized to support Horizon's current network, and planned
growth within its service territory.
"We've enjoyed a tremendous working relationship with Frontier,
and we're very proud of the excellent operational performance and
quality service that our people continue to deliver under the
JetExpress banner," said Jeff Pinneo, Horizon president and CEO.
"Through this program, we've demonstrated our ability to provide
high-quality contract flying services for other airline partners.
We regret that pressing needs for aircraft and capital on the home
front prevent us from participating in their expansion plans, but
we look forward to all that this move will allow us to do to
improve service levels and reinforce our commitment to our
traditional markets."
"Over the course of the past three years, Horizon has proven to
be a partner of the highest quality, both operationally and
culturally," said Jeff Potter, Frontier president and CEO. "While
we are certainly disappointed that Horizon will not be
participating in the bid process, we understand their need for
organic growth under the Horizon Air banner."
In addition to the nine jets currently based in Denver, Horizon
operates another 11 in its mainline fleet, as well as 20 Bombardier
Q400 and 28 Q200 turboprops. Starting late this year, Horizon will
begin taking delivery of 13 more Q400s from manufacturer Bombardier
Aerospace; many of these 76-seat aircraft will replace the smaller
37-seat Q200s, 16 of which are being transitioned out of the fleet
over the next two years.