Pay & conditions · North America
Horizon Air: pilot jobs, pay and conditions
United States · Regional · QX / QXE
Hiring now
Part of the Alaska Air Group group
Alaska Air Group keeps a standing recruitment page for Horizon pilots (First Officer and Experienced First Officer). Horizon flies only the E175 and describes itself as the fastest path to Alaska Airlines mainline. Upgrade and base vacancies are bid monthly.
Pay
First officer
USD 92.72–112 an hour
about $83–101k a year
Captain
USD 153.68–222 an hour
about $138–200k a year
Horizon's careers pages give starting rates of $92.72/hr for First Officers and $153.68/hr for Captains. AirlinePilotCentral lists the full longevity scale: FO pay rises to $112 by year 4, and Captain pay rises to $222 by year 18. Those top-of-scale figures come from APC, not from Horizon. Horizon's compensation page values first-year total rewards at up to $90,000. That total includes $6,500 per diem, $5,850 in employee-only health benefits, up to $6,120 in 401(k) contributions and up to $9,450 in performance bonus. Pilots with prior Part 121 time get year-for-year pay credit. The current Teamsters contract terms come from a 2021 mid-contract amendment and a September 2022 retention agreement.
Agreement news
Open vacancies (1)
Experienced First Officer – Horizon Air
E175 ·
SEA, PAE, PDX, GEG, BOI, MFR, ANC · minimum
1,500 hours · permanent · apply on icims.com
Standing advert on Alaska Air Group's pilot jobs portal. Applicants need 200 hrs of Part 121 PIC prior qualifying time on top of FO minimums. The careers page lists a starting FO rate of $92.72/hr, an experience-hire bonus and longevity pay match. The advert body would not render, so its dates and wording were not checked.
Conditions
- Allowances
- Per diem of $2.25/hr (APC); the careers page values first-year per diem at about $6,500. Quarterly and annual company performance bonus programs apply.
- Roster
- Monthly bidding for lines, upgrades and base vacancies. No guarantee figure was found in open sources.
- Bases
- SEA, PAE, PDX, GEG, BOI, MFR, ANC
- Fleet
- E175
- Benefits
- 401(k) with a dollar-for-dollar match up to 8% (APC). An A/B fund adds a 2% non-elective contribution at 5-10 years of service and 4% after 10 years. Medical coverage, travel privileges, quarterly and annual bonuses, and longevity pay credit for prior Part 121 service are included. Horizon runs an in-house ATP-CTP course at company expense. The Pilot Development Program and Pilot Pathways offer a route to Alaska Airlines.
- Union
- Teamsters Local 1224 (Airline Professionals Association, IBT)
- Careers site
- alaskaair.com ↗
Requirements
- First officer
- 1,500 hours minimum
- Type rating
- Provided in training (E175)
- Licence
- FAA Commercial with multi-engine and instrument ratings, first-class medical, FCC restricted radiotelephone permit
- Other
- Candidates need 1,500 hrs total or R-ATP eligibility, 500 cross-country hours (200 with R-ATP or military), 100 night hours, 250 PIC hours (including 100 cross-country and 25 night), 75 instrument hours and 25 multi-engine hours (100 preferred). Other requirements are a high school diploma (4-year degree preferred), minimum age 21, an unrestricted passport and U.S. work authorization. An Experienced FO also needs 200 hrs of Part 121 PIC prior qualifying time.
Sources
From published reports in the aviation press · figures from 2026-11 · checked 1 Nov 2026
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