Alaska Airlines has retired the Bombardier Dash 8 Q400 turboprop from its fleet, with the final flight taking off from Spokane to Seattle on January 27.
Alaska is to use only Embraer E175s for its Seattle-based Horizon Air subsidiary, which connects cities on the west coasts of Canada and the US, the carrier announced.
"Flying two smaller fleets of aircraft wasn’t sustainable or cost effective for Horizon", parent company Alaska said. "Two of everything was required: parts, tools, training programs and more. Aside from pilots, every workgroup needed to know two aircraft types. Moving to one fleet type allows us to better focus all of our resources, which is important during a time of unprecedented pilot attrition throughout the regional airline industry", the Alaska statement explained.
“We’re at a unique moment in time,” said Joe Sprague, president of Horizon Air. “With our shift to a single fleet of E175 jets, we’re laying a major new cornerstone of the foundation for our future.”
The Q400 was first deployed by the carrier in 2001. Most of its fleet of the aircraft "are expected to be sold", Alaska said.
The changeover to E175-only was described as "bittersweet" by the airline. "Over the years, I witnessed so many extraordinary pilots who truly have the ‘touch’ with this airplane,” said veteran pilot Perry Solmonson.