[Update 2/21/08: You can take a look at footage of the the Oregon plane being painted here, the Oregon State plane being painted and in use here, and the Washington plane being painted here.]

What does a PR move by Horizon have to do with sports? Let’s put it this way: Horizon did not decide to decorate their planes with these four school’s decals because of their Microbiology Departments (and Oregon has a very good Microbiology department).

As cool as they look, I have to confess that it will be difficult for me to fly on an OSU, UW, or WSU plane.

Would you be able to will yourself into flying on a Beaver, Husky, or Cougar plane?

JJ

Press Release
12/14/2007 6:01 am (PT)

SEATTLE – Horizon Air today unveiled plans to honor four of the largest public universities in Oregon and Washington by painting four 70-seat CRJ-700 jets in university colors and marks. The special themed planes will be created for Oregon State University, University of Oregon, University of Washington and Washington State University – at no cost to the universities.

The aircraft will be painted one at a time starting in late December in the following sequence: WSU, Oregon, OSU and Washington, reflecting the order in which agreements were reached for Horizon to use their trademarked logos and symbols. The painting will take about 10 days per aircraft. The date each freshly painted aircraft will be entered into service will be announced later, as soon as it’s determined.

The four jets were already scheduled to be repainted. They recently returned to Horizon’s fleet after flying under contract for nearly four years as Frontier JetExpress. Because of the timing, the new looks will involve no additional painting cost to Horizon.

Horizon has regularly accommodated passengers associated with the four universities. Seattle (home to Washington), Pullman (WSU) and Eugene (Oregon) were among the first seven cities Horizon served upon its founding in 1981. OSU is the only school of the four that isn’t located in a Horizon destination, but Corvallis is just a short drive from both Portland and Eugene.

“Like Horizon, these four state universities are deeply rooted in the Great Northwest. When we explored the possibility of creating special liveries that reflect our Northwest heritage, these venerable institutions easily rose to the top of the list,” said Dan Russo, Horizon’s director of marketing and communications. “By flying their colors – and the colors of their rivals – we’re aiming to add fun to the flying experience. We expect this will thrill fans of the school teams, and put a smile on the faces of graduates, current students and university staff.”

The aircraft will operate on routes normally designated for jet service in Horizon’s regular schedule. Those routes include service from Portland to Northern and Southern California, and from Seattle to Santa Barbara, Fresno, and Reno. Horizon uses all of its aircraft in its regular flight schedule (including backup aircraft), so the airline expects to have extremely limited opportunities to use these university-themed planes for charters or other special assignments.

Named 2007 Regional Airline of the Year by Air Transport World magazine, Horizon today serves 48 cities throughout California, Colorado, Oregon, Washington, Idaho, Montana, Nevada, and British Columbia and Alberta. Together, Horizon Air and Alaska Airlines serve 92 cities and are subsidiaries of Alaska Air Group, Inc. (NYSE:ALK).

Artist renderings of the planned aircraft liveries are available in high-resolution format by visiting the Horizon Air Newsroom’s Image Gallery.

Tags: air, Airplane, Beavers, Cougars, Ducks, Horizon, Huskies, OSU, paint, University of Oregon, UO, UW