SEATTLE, Jul 12, 2002 (BUSINESS WIRE) -- Horizon Air will operate 70-seat Q400 aircraft in place of 37-seat Q200 aircraft on some of its flights from Bellingham, Eugene, and Pasco to Seattle starting Sept. 1.

The larger aircraft will be used to better accommodate customer demand at the most popular departure times.

For Bellingham-Seattle, two flights each way will be upgraded to the Q400, with total flights each way reduced from eight to seven. However, because of the larger aircraft, total seats available each way will increase by 29. The Q400s will depart southbound at 5:20 a.m. and 1:45 p.m., and northbound at 12:32 p.m. and 11:05 p.m. The Bellingham-Seattle route is flown primarily by passengers making connections to and from other flights at Seattle-Tacoma International Airport.

For Eugene-Seattle, one flight each way will be upgraded to the Q400, with total flights each way reduced from six to five. However, because of the larger aircraft, total seats available each way will decrease by only four. The Q400s will depart northbound at 7:25 p.m. and southbound at 5:55 p.m.

For Pasco-Seattle, one flight each way will be upgraded to the Q400, with total flights each way reduced from eight to seven and seats each way reduced by four. The Q400s will depart northbound at 8:10 a.m. and southbound at 6:50 a.m.

Eugene-Seattle and Pasco-Seattle ridership is composed of a combination of point-to-point travelers and those making connections.

"The Q400 is ideally suited for shorter distance routes where demand is high, which enables us to make more seats available to our customers at the times they need them most," said Patrick Zachwieja, Horizon's vice president of marketing and planning.

The Q400 is a new and technologically advanced high-speed turboprop aircraft providing a new level of passenger comfort. In the bright and modern interior, passengers enjoy generous leg room approaching that found in many first-class cabins. There is also ample storage space above and under the seats. Thanks to its sophisticated noise and vibration suppression system, the Q400 boasts the quietest turboprop cabin in the sky. And with a top cruising speed of 360 knots (420 mph), the Q400 can fly passengers in about the same amount of time as a jet on short-distance routes.

Horizon is the North America launch customer for the Q400 and is fast becoming the regional airline with one of the youngest, most fuel-efficient fleets in the United States and Canada. Bombardier Aerospace of Canada manufactures the Q400.

Horizon Air serves 43 cities in Arizona, California, Colorado, Idaho, Montana, Oregon and Washington, as well as Alberta and British Columbia.

Horizon Air and Alaska Airlines are subsidiaries of Alaska Air Group, Inc. For more information and other news, visit Horizon Air's News Room at http://newsroom.horizonair.com.

Note to Editors: Images of the Q400 in Horizon Air livery are available in the Horizon Air Newsroom at http://www.alaskasworld.com/newsroom/qxnews/.

CONTACT:          Horizon Air
                  Dan Russo, 206/431-4513
                  http://newsroom.horizonair.com

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