Flying time in the Q400, which is operated by Horizon Air
’œTake a trip for only $7!’ Not today.
There are many stories out there that will tell you how to travel super cheap. That’s not this story. I am a middle class professional, without a lot of disposable income, so I need to make sure I spend it wisely. I haven’t flown in a while and started to get that itch. You probably know it. Where you feel that you need to be airborne again. I had no trips coming up for AirlineReporter and even if there were, my schedule was tight, so making something work was unlikely. I finally decided to try and set up a weekend trip on my own.
Oh Montana!
I was talking to a friend (let’s call her Brittany — turns out to be her name) about wanting to fly and she shared the sentiment. We decided to take a trip, with a few requirements: 1) Somewhere not too far away from Seattle (SEA), to have meaningful time on the ground; 2) Fly on a Bombardier Q400 (she had never flown on one); and 3) Some place where we could wear our cowboy boots (yea, I guess you can wear cowboy boots anywhere, but we wanted to go somewhere it made sense). We were up for the challenge and decided on a great location!
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Taking the Dash-8 (aka Q400) helped make our decision easier with less destination choices. Luckily Alaska Airlines / Horizon Air, based in Seattle, has quite a few’¦ but where did they fly? My good friend (and super AvGeek) Jason Rabinowitz created me a map (thanks buddy!). Then I started looking at schedules and prices. After quite a bit of comparing and contrasting, Brittany and I decided on flying to Missoula, Montana (MSO). Neither of us had been, so it seemed like a legitimate place to rock some cowboy boots. YEE HAW!
The flight schedule allowed us to land at about 10:30am local time on Saturday and take off at 8:30pm on Sunday — meaning we had plenty of time both days for some adventure.
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- Cowboy boots and TSA
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- Taking care of business in the lounge
We arrived to SEA at about 6:00am and security was a total breeze. We headed to the Alaska Airlines Board Room and helped ourselves to some pancakes using their sweet machine (I think it is one of the coolest lounge amenities).
We didn’t stay in the lounge too long, since we arranged to pre-board to get photos for the story. We were escorted to the ramp and able to get some photos before heading on to the Q400, which had the Oregon State University livery. It is always nice getting onto a plane with no passengers. Feels so much more personal and one can connect better with the machine.
After we met the flight crew, the passengers started to board and we made it to our seats in row 14 — I wanted to sit under the wing to see the engine and gear raise and lower. But I forgot how little view you have looking straight out because of that wing, gear, and engine (especially when you are being the nice person and letting your friend sit at the window).
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- Uh oh!
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- Our new ride.
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- The Alaska/NASCAR team in action
Before we were ready to head out, the captain came on and let us know that one of the tires was flat and we needed to de-plane. Because the Q400 is smaller and Alaska uses both the front and rear doors, it took very little time to be back in the terminal. They ended up doing a plane swap and only 15 minutes after we got back in the terminal, we were boarding again and on our way. Nicely done!
I really love the Q400. That engine start, takeoff, high wing views, and seeing the gear raise. Yes’¦ the seat doesn’t recline, there is no sun shade, and the cabin is a bit tight, but this was only a 90-minute flight – smaller aircraft allow airlines, like Alaska, to increase their network to smaller airports in a cost effective way. Plus, you get free beer and wine (we did not partake, but others did — even at 9:00am).
Even though we just had pancakes in the lounge, we needed our energy to take on Montana. We had a chance to try two of the boxed meals — we were impressed with both. They are simple enough; a combination of snacks, but they were nicely paired. The flight went quickly and soon we landed at the small, cozy, and (shall I say it) cute airport.
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- That time I wore cowboy boots to Missoula
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- Missoula Airport
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- SUV in the wilderness
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- Checking out ghost towns
When booking the rental car, I could have gone with the cheap econobox, but decided to spend a bit more and get a full-size SUV. Why? Montana and cowboy boots, of course! No question, that extra money ended up being well spent.
This might be a good time to point out that we didn’t do much planning — on purpose. Not an easy task since we are both sort of planners. We had a hotel reserved two hours north (by Glacier National Park), but our goal was to mosey on north, smell the roses, and see what happens. This turned out to be the right call’¦ mostly.
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- Up in the hills
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- Garnett
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- By Hungry Horse
We stopped at a gas station to get some snacks and while chatting with the cashier, she mentioned Garnett, which is a ghost town a few miles down the road. We had our first mission.
Garnett did not feel like a tourist trap (which I hate). It felt real, and its history was very accessible. Then there were smaller, less marked ghost towns on rough logging roads throughout the area. This is where the SUV came in. We were driving through these dirty/muddy roads (I was aiming for all the puddles), seeing ruins, but not seeing one another person or car. It was awesome.
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- Smokey came along
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- Our cowboy/girl boots
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- Smelling the roses
The views were breathtaking and our cowboy boots allowed us to do some exploring. We didn’t end up seeing any bears, goats, or elk, but we did see cows.
We made our way back to the pavement and continued north. We were hoping to hit Glacier National Park on Saturday, but we had too much fun in the hills, so decided to make our way to the hotel and do some relaxing before the next day. Although no researching and flying by the seat of our pants had worked out great so far’¦ this is where some planning might have been better.
We had no idea what Glacier National Park was going to be like. We both had been to plenty of other state/national parks, but at most you can do a quick drive or there’s a visitor center to check out. Not at Glacier. It’s huge. Really huge. By the time we arrived, we had four hours before we needed to head back south to the airport. Turned out that was not nearly enough time. We made it work and it was still worth going for the four hours, but we would have liked more time there.
After doing a short (but few hour) drive into the park, we started to head back south to the airport — still making a few stops on the way. By the time we arrived, we were tired, the rental car was muddy, and we had some really amazing memories. We sat in the small waiting area at the gate and boarded on time.
As I looked out the window and watched the last of the sunset over Missoula’s rolling hills, I knew this was a great trip and the right call. I know I had always been hesitant to spend so much money on just a weekend. I felt pressure to plan every second to get the most value out of my money. But really, value can be found in the smaller surprises. Good planes, good location, good people, and good times.
Leaving Missoula, heading back to Seattle
Overall the trip broke down to about $450 per person. Not super cheap, and I know this might not be possible for everyone. But this has surely motivated me to not spend my money as much on other things and put them towards future trips. Sure, with some additional planning, flexibility, and patience you can do a trip like this for much less. But don’t let that stand in your way. If you have been thinking about a trip like this, I say saddle up!
View more photos of the Montana adventure
Sounds like a fun trip.
BTW, you were at Glacier once before-when you were minus four months old. I doubt you recall…
Hey Mom,
Not sure how I missed that one :).
I am guessing you gave us more time though.
Love, Son | AirlineReporter
Hi David and your Mom also. Great trip. I have been to Montana several times from NC and enjoyed it. (wore boots also). Q400 is fun and for the reasons you mentioned. Hard to find airlines around RDU that fly them. United to Newark used to.
Hey Lew,
It’s too bad that the majority of passengers prefer the regional jets over the Q400s. I have to say that the best Q400 operation that I have experienced is Porter Airlines based in Toronto. https://www.airlinereporter.com/2012/01/my-review-flying-porter-airlines-from-toronto-to-monreal-and-back/
Have you flown them?
David | AirlineReporter
No. Never flown Porter. At 69 and retired twice, I fly leisure anytime I take a notion. I usually fly into Boston or Hyannis, MA to visit my children and grandchildren. I flew the old 4 engine Dash 7’s of US Air and others in the 70’s and 80’s. Not many in service anymore. I’m leaving on the 11th of October and I built my flight to stay in the air as long as I could. RDU-BOS, BOS-JFK,JFK-HYA all on JetBlue. My return is Cape Air to BOS, BOS-JFK and JFK-RDU. I do love to fly.
Nice article! Your skill as a photographer is tremendous. Beautiful pictures.
Hey Malcolm,
I wish I could take full credit, but some (especially the good ones) were taken by Brittany :).
David | AirlineReporter
This is my favorite article on AR probably all year. Looks like you made some great memories all around. Montana is on my short-list and I hope to fly the Q400 when I finally make it there.
Hey James,
I am glad you liked it! Originally I planned just do this trip without a story, but once it started coming together and especially after going, I knew I had to tell it!
David | AirlineReporter
David,
I agree with you about Montana. Vacationed for a week in Big Sky at a ski resort in summer. Your photos were awesome and just about capture the natural beauty of the Big Sky state! I say just about because a person has to be there to really appreciate the vivid scenery. Unbelievable!
Thanks for the great story.
Hey Dave,
I think going in the fall is a good call. Less people and of course those yellow leafs! I want to go back.
David | AirlineReporter
It might be Alaska in the future, but today it’s Horizon. You flew QX, not AS. All those DH4s belong to QX. Great pics btw.
Hey Keith,
I do feel bad that I did not mention Horizon — I should have. I updated the story a bit to add it. I know from a passenger’s perspective, they don’t care. They see the Alaska livery, they buy the Alaska ticket and that’s what hey know. But from an AvGeek’s perspective and the fact I grew up flying Horizon, I should have mentioned it.
I see more pride from people who work for Horizon than any other regional carrier. Heck… more than most mainline carriers too. I don’t think story lends itself to talk about that too much, but I hope to do more stories in the future that talks about the Horizon side of the operation.
David | AirlineReporter
Thanks for the fun trip report, David. Alaska Air/Horizon Air is one heck of a fine airline group and they are my #1 choice for regional and when connecting through larger hubs from Eugene, OR. Trivia: I spent my formative years not far from SEA-TAC (Brown’s Point) and have vivid memories of riding past SEA on Hwy 99 en-route to Seattle, years before I-5 was built. Such great fun for a small kid, literally riding under the tails of NWA’s parked aircraft. I’m not sure that Alaska Air had even been formed in those days. As noted, today, Alaska/Horizon is my first choice to destination – or at least the go-to airlines for connecting to some other carrier when necessary. Home Town airline or not, Alaska/Horizon simply get it and they do one heck of a good job. With every fiber in my soul, I hope that they maintain their standards and continue to grow. And yes, the dash-8 is a great airplane. Flat tires happen. Even at home base, where a spare or two may be expected, the 15-minute plane swap is impressive and I’m impressed. Did I mention that they are a truly great airline? Probably… -C.
Was just there last month! Beautiful place. Got there on an Delta A319 from MSP, however. Even a 319 is too big for that airport, haha.
taking my first flight on a q400 in a few hours. first prop jet I’ll have flown in for a very long time.
Just a quick run to Medford. taking a few days off my 30 wheel semi, hauling lumber and having some
down time. anytime you need a travel partner, I’m down!! Hit me up!! patti