An Alaska Air Group executive said the company will likely order regional jets to replace 15 of its Bombardier Q400 turboprop airplanes, in order to keep up with competition.
Horizon Air -- Alaska Airlines' sister company -- has been operating the 76-passenger turboprop planes in Alaska since 2013. The Q400s created quite a stir when they were introduced in Alaska just a few years ago, in part because of the need to board passengers in the frigid outdoors. In Fairbanks, some people lashed out at the airline on Facebook over having to board a plane outdoors in temperatures well below zero.
The planes travel between Anchorage and Fairbanks multiple times daily, and seasonally from Anchorage to Kodiak. They are designed for shorter-distance flights.
Brandon Pedersen, chief financial officer of Alaska Air Group, talked about the possible change during the company's earnings call last week.
"It is likely that we will place an order for 30 large regional jets in the first quarter of 2016, with deliveries starting in 2017 if we can reach acceptable commercial terms with the parties involved," Pedersen said on the call. Those would replace 15 Q400s that are scheduled for lease return in 2018.
He said those regional jets deliver a better passenger experience and "increased reach" compared to the turboprop planes.
"Our competition, frankly, is using those (jets) in many of our markets and I think we want to make sure that we are staying on par or better with the customer experience side," Pedersen said.
Horizon flies 52 Q400 planes for Alaska Airlines, and it's not clear whether some of the 15 planes that might be replaced would be Alaska-based.
Bobbie Egan, media relations director for Alaska Airlines and Horizon Air, said that nothing is final yet on replacing the planes.
"We said we were considering placing an order for regional jets, and we haven't made a decision yet," she said.
Egan said the capacity on regional jets would be the same as the Q400s, but it's too soon to know where they might fly.
The company started flying Q400s in other states before 2013, and currently operates the aircraft in markets along the West Coast, Montana, Idaho and Canada along with Alaska.