Between two pairs of highly travelled cities are an airlines’ great opportunity to provide great shuttle service. Alaska Horizon Airlines provides a shuttle service between Seattle Tacoma International Airport and Portland International Airport. The cities are just over 170 miles apart and are frequently serviced with regular flight frequencies between the pair.

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This post is one chapter on our trip to Kaanapali, Maui, Hawaii, United States of America. This trip was redeemed through Alaska Mileage Plan on a 2 for 1 Companion Fare and enhanced through Marriott Bonvoy Elite Status. For more information on how this trip was booked, please see our trip introduction here. For other parts of the trip, please see this index.

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Review: Alaska Horizon Airlines Q400, Seattle Tacoma International Airport – Portland International Airport

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This will be a brief review as it’s a short flight. It is always more pleasant to arrive into Hawaii at dusk, instead of arriving in the late evening. This allows you to get settled in your hotel and get the best room upgrades available before they all disappear (laughing). In order to get down to Maui with an afternoon arrival, we had to depart on the Alaska Airlines Portland – Kahului flight. As a result, we had another short hop down on Alaska Airlines Horizon Shuttle over to Portland.

When I came time to leave the Alaska Lounge C Concourse Seattle, we headed down for the Horizon Shuttle to Portland. It was my very first Alaska Airlines Horizon shuttle flight. I wasn’t really sure what to expect other than it was a shuttle flight in the usual prop plane. We ended up leaving Seattle from Gate C2, which is right across from the awesome Beechers’ Cheese vendor.

Our boarding of the shuttle flights today was outside via the covered Gate C2 walkways at Seattle Tacoma Airport on to the apron. It was a nice clean facility and they had lots of travellers coming and going through these communal gates.

Alaska Airlines
Economy Class (T)
SEA-PDX (SeaTac Airport – Portland International Airport)
AS 2077
August 18, 2017
Booked: Bombardier Q400
Flown: Bombardier Q400
Departure: 11:04 AM
Arrival: 11:50 AM

On Board Alaska Horizon Air:

It was double boarding doors today with rows 1-10 boarding via the front doors stairs, and the balance boarding via the rear door stairs. The boarding process with both doors made things go much quicker. I left my rolling suitcase on the “A La Cart” gate check immediately outside.

We settled in on board into some smallish seats. The Alaska Horizon Q400 aircraft offer the usual 2 -2 configuration in a single class of service aircraft. The traditional brown seats are anything but old school. At the very least, they are comfortable.

Food an Beverage:

As we got under way, we were offered a drink of juice, water or free local wine or beer. It was a strange combination as no coca cola or other soft drinks for otherwise available. As a short shuttle flight, I wasn’t expecting all too much. It’s always interesting to see what you can get on this short segments.

We were straight into Portland International Airport with no real waits. We disembarked off at the A gates. We waited for the cart followed by a brisk walk towards to the Gate C3 thanks to a tight connection. MrsWT73 forgot WT73Jr’s sandals on the Horizon Air flight. She took them out of the exterior pocket in the carry on so that the bag would fit into the overhead bin, then left them in the overhead bin in her rush to get off of the plane. Whoops!

The Bottom Line:

In summary, Alaska Airlines provided a reasonable shuttle flight with an odd beverage combination. Juice, water or craft alcohol. Well, I suppose there are stranger things out there. With their frequent service between the two cities, I wouldn’t hesitate to travel with them again.

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If you fly frequently between Seattle and Portland, is Alaska Horizon Airlines meeting your travel needs ?

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