As part of its effort to improve its financial performance, Horizon is closing Butte and transferring its nine employees after cutting its twice-daily, 19-year-old service to Seattle. After Horizon's last flight from Butte on Aug. 24, the nearest Horizon nonstop service to Seattle will be via Helena (68 miles from Butte) or Bozeman (76 miles from Butte).
It is also eliminating its once daily Billings-Portland service, in addition to trimming five of its 31 round trips between Seattle and Portland. While it will also retain the same number of seats in the Pasco-Seattle market, it is shaving a roundtrip and replacing five Q400 and two Q200 flights with six Q400 flights.
The carrier, earlier this year, said it is shedding its CRJ-700s and Q200s to create a single-aircraft fleet as a cost-cutting measure. Related Story
Other service changes include:
• Billings-Portland: Horizon is discontinuing its once-daily nonstop service between Billings and Portland. Service to Portland will be available via connections from Horizon's current twice-daily Billings-Seattle nonstop service or on a new third flight between Billings and Seattle that will make an intermediate stop in Helena. All Billings flights will be operated with Q400s.
• Idaho Falls: The current two daily Q400 flights to Boise are being reduced to one starting Oct. 12. The early morning flight from Idaho Falls and evening return will make connections in Boise to Horizon flights to Los Angeles, Portland, Sacramento, San Jose and Seattle. From Aug. 25 and continuing through Oct. 11, Horizon's only service to Idaho Falls will consist of four daily Q200 flights to Boise, covering a period when the longer of the airport's two runways will be closed for repairs. Horizon will be the only carrier serving Idaho Falls between Sept. 2 and Oct. 1.
• It is adding twice daily, Q400 flights to Seattle on October 12, one westbound flight will be nonstop to Seattle and the other making an intermediate stop at Boise. Of the two eastbound flights, one will stop in Boise and the other in Sun Valley before continuing on to Idaho Falls.
• Lewiston-Boise: The current two daily Q400 flights are being reduced to one. The remaining flight will originate and terminate in Pullman.
• Medford-Portland: The current five daily flights (two Q400 and three Q200) are being reduced to four (two Q400 and two Q200).
• Redmond/Bend-Portland: The current five daily flights (four Q200 and one Q400) are being reduced to four (three Q200 and one Q400). Redmond/Bend-Seattle: The current four daily Q400 flights are being reduced to three.
New routes (redeployments from other routes)
• Billings-Helena: This once-daily nonstop Q400 service will depart Billings in the morning and return in the early evening.
• San Jose-Sacramento: This once-daily Q400 service is going to connect one of California's most important business centers with its state capital.
• Boise-San Jose and Boise-Sacramento will be consolidatted into one routing that will continue to give Boise twice-daily flights to both San Jose and Sacramento, but with a combination of nonstop and one-stop, same-plane flights.
• Wenatchee-Seattle: The current four daily Q200 flights are being converted to three Q400 flights and one Q200 flight.
• Seattle-Sun Valley: One daily Q400 flight is being combined with the new Seattle-Idaho Falls service during the off-season starting Oct. 12.
• Portland-Seattle: Horizon is trimming five flights each way from its current weekday schedule of 31 flights each way between Seattle and Portland. Flights will continue to operate every half-hour during the higher-demand morning and afternoon commute periods, with one-hour intervals between flights during some periods spanning the middle of the day. Sixteen of the 26 flights each way will be operated with Q400s or CRJ-700s.
• Pasco-Seattle: The current seven daily flights (five Q400 and two Q200) are being reduced to six (all Q400). The net result will be the same number of seats in the market.
• Kelowna-Seattle: The current four daily flights (three Q200 and one Q400) are being reduced to three (all Q400). This will result in a 20 percent increase in seats in the market.