Horizon Air Pilot Requirements 2026: Hours, License and Hiring Process

Horizon Air, Alaska Air Group’s regional airline, flies Embraer E175s for Alaska Airlines: 49 of them in July 2026, on Alaska’s fleet page. Its Experienced First Officer postings, as search results showed them on 25 October 2026, ask for an FAA Commercial certificate with multi-engine and instrument ratings, a First Class medical, 1,465 hours total or the restricted ATP’s qualifications (its pilot page said 1,500 hours) and 200 hours of prior qualifying time, such as second in command at a Part 121 airline; they name no type rating. At the last check, on 25 October 2026, Horizon’s compensation page gave First Officer pay from USD 92.72 an hour in the first year. Its pilot page, as search results showed it, said Horizon was hiring Experienced First Officers, but we could not open a posting. The same results gave crew bases at Seattle–Tacoma, Portland, Everett, Spokane, Boise and Anchorage and a new one at Las Vegas, while Medford’s was to close in the second quarter of 2026 (Hoodline, March 2026). Horizon pilots move on to Alaska through the Pilot Pathways Program.

Is Horizon Air hiring pilots now?

Recruiting at the last check on 25 October 2026 — First Officer seat: Recruiting; Captain seat: Unconfirmed. Experienced First Officers on the E175: in search results, Horizon’s postings ask for 1,465 h total or R-ATP qualified, with 200 h of the prior qualifying time of 14 CFR 121.436(a)(3), an FAA Commercial with multi-engine and instrument ratings and a First Class medical; a Pilot Development Program for student pilots; Pathways to Alaska after 1,000 h as pilot in command at Horizon

Requirements, as published

Reading the requirements line by line

Horizon’s pilot page and its Experienced First Officer postings could not be downloaded for this check, so their requirements below are as search results showed them on 25 October 2026, beside what Horizon’s Pilot Development Program and compensation pages say; the FAA rules cited were read in the regulations themselves.

• 1,465 or 1,500 hours, or the restricted ATP. In search results, Horizon’s Experienced First Officer postings ask for 1,465 hours of total flight time or the qualifications of the restricted ATP, and its pilot page for 1,500 hours or the restricted ATP, so ask Horizon which figure applies to you; its Pilot Development Program page asks its own pilots for the ATP minimum flight hours before they are hired as First Officers. All of these sit beside the FAA’s numbers: the ATP takes 1,500 hours with 500 cross-country, 100 at night, 75 of instrument time and 250 in an airplane as pilot in command, or as second in command performing the duties of pilot in command under supervision (14 CFR 61.159(a)); the restricted ATP takes 750 hours for a US military pilot, 1,000 with a bachelor’s degree with an aviation major and 60 aviation credit hours, or 1,250 with an associate’s degree with an aviation major or a bachelor’s with 30 to 59 credit hours, each from an institution the FAA has authorized, and in each case 200 hours of cross-country time (14 CFR 61.160). The postings’ 500 cross-country hours, or 200 if you are R-ATP or military qualified, with 100 at night and 75 of instrument time, follow the same rules.
• 200 hours of prior qualifying time. This is what makes the postings experienced ones. The copies in search results ask for 200 hours of FAA-approved prior qualifying time toward Part 121 command, citing 14 CFR 121.436(a)(3), such as 200 hours as second in command at a Part 121 carrier, and say the time is verified in your logbooks with the System Chief Pilot or the Director of Operations at the interview. The rule asks a Part 121 Captain for 1,000 hours as second in command under Part 121, as pilot in command under 14 CFR 91.1053(a)(2)(i) or 135.243(a)(1), or as pilot in command in eligible on-demand operations, or any combination, and lets a pilot credit 500 hours of military time as pilot in command of a multi-engine turbine airplane in an operation requiring more than one pilot (14 CFR 121.436(a)(3) and (c)). The copies list other options beside the Part 121 time that we could not read in full, so ask Horizon which of these it counts toward its 200.
• A Commercial, not the ATP, and no type rating named. The posting copies ask for an FAA Commercial with multi-engine and instrument ratings and name no type rating, and no Horizon page we could download names one; Horizon’s compensation page says its First Officer training includes an in-house ATP-CTP course, with all expenses covered. Part 121 lets no pilot serve as second in command without an ATP and the type rating for the aircraft (14 CFR 121.436(b)), so you hold both before you fly the line.
• The age. 21, on Horizon’s Pilot Development Program page for its First Officers and, in search results, on its pilot page and in a copy of the posting: the age at which the FAA issues the restricted ATP, while the full ATP needs 23 (14 CFR 61.153(a)).
• The papers. Horizon’s Pilot Development Program page asks for a valid US passport and a First Class medical when you apply and an active FCC radio permit before you are hired as a First Officer. The posting copies in search results ask for a current FAA First Class medical and, in one copy, authorization to work in the US, and the copies we saw on 29 September 2026 for a valid passport allowing unrestricted travel to and from the US and an FCC restricted radiotelephone operator permit. We saw no visa sponsorship wording, so ask Horizon before you apply from outside the US.
• Preferred, not required. 100 hours of multi-engine time, 100 hours flown in the last 12 months and a four-year degree, in the posting copies.

Entry routes

• Experienced First Officer — postings for Horizon’s bases on the Alaska Air Group careers site (as search results showed them on 25 October 2026): 1,465 h total or R-ATP qualified, with 200 h of the prior qualifying time of 14 CFR 121.436(a)(3)
• Pilot Development Program — for student pilots with at least a private pilot license and a First Class medical: a USD 12,500 stipend in two parts, a line pilot mentor, evaluation for a conditional job offer after the Commercial certificate and a year in the program, and a Horizon First Officer seat at the ATP minimums (Horizon’s program page, 25 October 2026)
• True North — for students at Alaska’s four-year university partner schools: reimbursement of up to 80% of flight lab fees, mentorship and an apprenticeship or direct-hire placement in an entry-level position (True North page, 25 October 2026)
• Pilot Pathways Program — from Horizon to Alaska (and Hawaiian, on Alaska Air Group’s pilot jobs page): after a Pathways interview, eligibility for an Alaska class date after 1,000 h as pilot in command at Horizon, with class dates in Horizon seniority order (Alaska’s Pathways page, 25 October 2026)
• Direct entry Captain — none found on Horizon’s careers pages

Pathways, the development programs and the pay

Horizon’s Pathways, Pilot Development Program, True North and compensation pages, downloaded on 25 October 2026, and Alaska Air Group’s pilot jobs page, downloaded on 24 October 2026, describe the routes into and out of Horizon’s First Officer seat; none of the pages carries a date of its own.

• Pilot Pathways Program. Alaska Air Group’s pilot jobs page calls it the fastest path to mainline flying at Alaska Airlines and Hawaiian Airlines, under the heading “Pilot Pathways: Horizon to Alaska and Hawaiian”; the Pathways page itself describes the move to Alaska. Current or future Horizon pilots who pass a Pathways interview with Alaska join the Pathways List in Horizon seniority order and become eligible for a class date at Alaska after 1,000 hours as pilot in command at Horizon, with class dates assigned by Horizon seniority. Horizon pilot candidates have their Horizon and Alaska interviews on the same day; current Horizon pilots can apply each quarter, and Pilot Development Program pilots as soon as they join Horizon. Alaska runs its own background checks, including a PRIA review.
• Pilot Development Program. For student pilots, Horizon’s program pays a USD 12,500 stipend in two parts: USD 2,500 after the instrument rating and six months in the program, and USD 10,000 with a conditional job offer. You enroll with at least a private pilot license, a First Class medical and a valid US passport, and receive a line pilot mentor; after the Commercial single-engine certificate and a year in the program you are evaluated for the conditional job offer; and once you meet the ATP minimums and pass a final review of your pilot records with the Chief Pilot’s Office, you are hired as a Horizon First Officer. Alaska Air Group’s pilot jobs page adds a guaranteed interview with Horizon and names a version of the program for Horizon’s own employees.
• True North. For students at select four-year colleges and universities, True North offers reimbursement of up to 80% of all flight lab fees, mentorship, and an apprenticeship or direct-hire placement in an entry-level position.
• The pay. At the last check, on 25 October 2026, Horizon’s compensation page gave first-year pay of USD 92.72 an hour for First Officers and USD 153.68 for Captains, with a year-for-year pay match for candidates with prior Part 121 time. It also lists a per diem of USD 6,500, health benefits worth USD 5,850 for employee-only coverage, a 401(k) contribution of up to USD 6,120 and a company performance bonus of up to USD 9,450, without saying over what period. It gives no monthly guarantee and no experienced-hire bonus amount, so ask Horizon for both.
• Captains. We found no Direct Entry Captain posting or page for Horizon. Under Part 121 a Captain needs 1,000 hours of the qualifying time above (14 CFR 121.436(a)(3)).

Horizon beside the four largest US passenger airlines on our jobs board, as recorded at each airline’s last check:

Each of the four majors starts at 1,500 hours or more. Horizon’s Experienced First Officer postings, in search results, take 1,465 hours or the restricted ATP’s lower totals, with 200 hours of prior qualifying time, and its Pilot Development Program takes student pilots who are still building hours; from Horizon, the Pilot Pathways Program leads on to Alaska, with a Pathways interview and a class date in Horizon seniority order.

Selection process

1. Online application on the Alaska Air Group careers site
2. Interview, at which, in the posting copies search results showed, your prior qualifying time is verified in your logbooks with the System Chief Pilot or the Director of Operations
3. For Horizon pilot candidates, the Horizon interview and the Alaska Pilot Pathways interview take place on the same day (Alaska’s Pathways page, 25 October 2026)

Bases and fleet

Bases: Seattle–Tacoma, Portland, Everett, Spokane, Boise and Anchorage (Horizon’s pilot page and its Experienced First Officer postings, as search results showed them on 25 October 2026) · Las Vegas: a new crew base, reported by KOBI5 in March 2026, with Experienced First Officer postings of its own from April 2026 (search results of 25 October 2026) · Medford: the crew base was to close in the second quarter of 2026, with about 78 pilots and flight attendants moving to other bases while the Medford flights continue (Hoodline, 27 March 2026, citing The Oregonian); Horizon’s pilot page, as search results showed it, still listed it

Fleet: Embraer E175, 76 seats, flown for Alaska Airlines: 49 flown by Horizon in July 2026 (Alaska’s fleet page), which lists 43 more flown by SkyWest

How to prepare

Horizon flies only the Embraer E175, so the E-Jet bank, with its systems, limitations, normal procedures and memory items, is your type preparation, beside the ATPL theory banks below for the performance, meteorology and systems knowledge underneath. Horizon’s postings ask for a Commercial certificate, not the ATP, but Part 121 lets no one serve as second in command without the ATP and the type rating (14 CFR 121.436(b)), and the ATP knowledge test needs the ATP-CTP course first (14 CFR 61.153(e)). Horizon’s compensation page says that course is part of its First Officer training, in house, with all expenses covered, so the written follows it: work the ATP bank for the FAA’s ATM test, with its Part 121, transport performance and turbine-systems questions. Horizon does not describe its interview on the pages we could download; the posting copies in search results add only a check of your prior qualifying time in your logbooks with the System Chief Pilot or the Director of Operations, and Alaska’s Pathways page says Horizon pilot candidates have their Horizon and Alaska interviews on the same day. Prepare the behavioral questions with the US airline interview set, whose hiring-process questions cover the FAA’s Pilot Records Database, and the CRM interview set, and the instrument side of a technical question with the FAA instrument banks. Do the paperwork first: total your prior qualifying time on a line of its own, each hour traceable to the operation it was flown in; total the cross-country, night and instrument time the postings count; and keep your First Class medical valid.

Horizon has no interview guide on v1prep yet, so for the interview read the complete airline pilot interview guide and the Library’s competency-based pilot interviews; its airline pilot recruitment and selection explains the background checks and the Pilot Records Database behind a US airline offer. If you are counting on the lower minimums, the restricted ATP explained sets out who qualifies at 750, 1,000 or 1,250 hours, and our FAA ATP written test guide covers the ATP-CTP and the test that follows it. On the E175, the Library’s E-Jet family and flight deck is a place to start, and its airline pilot ranks, seniority and scheduling explains how the seniority order behind the Pathways List works. To see where Pathways leads, read Alaska Airlines pilot requirements and our Alaska Airlines pilot interview guide; SkyWest, which also flies E175s for Alaska, is on SkyWest Airlines pilot requirements. Check Horizon’s entry on the jobs board for the latest status.

What we could not confirm

• Researched on 25 October 2026 from search-engine results of the airline’s own careers pages, job postings and industry job boards, and from downloads of Horizon’s compensation, Pilot Development Program, Pathways and True North pages; Horizon’s pilot page and its postings could not be downloaded. Confirm the vacancy is still open before you apply.
• Whether an Experienced First Officer posting is open today: the copies we could date are from 2026, one with an apply-by date of 1 October 2026, and we could not open the postings
• The total-time minimum and the prior qualifying time: in search results, Horizon’s Experienced First Officer postings gave 1,465 h and its pilot page 1,500 h, each with the restricted ATP as the alternative, and the postings asked for 200 h of prior qualifying time, with options beyond second in command at a Part 121 carrier that we could not read in full
• Whether a type rating is ever asked for: no Horizon page we could download names one, and the posting copies in search results asked for none
• The monthly pay guarantees, the conditions of the year-for-year pay match and the experienced-hire bonus: the compensation page gives none of them; posting copies in search results gave 75 credit hours on the jet and 73 on reserve and tied the match to a permanent bid that puts every Captain position first, and bonus amounts differ between copies
• Whether the Pilot Development Program carries a service commitment: Horizon’s program page names none, while a partner school’s page, in search results, describes one of at least two years after the ATP minimums
• The Las Vegas crew base: reported by KOBI5 in March 2026 and named in Experienced First Officer postings in search results; we could not download either
• Whether Horizon hires direct-entry Captains, and whether Alaska Air Group’s Ascend Pilot Academy, seen only in search results, takes a 2026 intake toward a Horizon seat: we found no Captain posting or page

These points are not published clearly by the airline. Treat them as leads, not facts, and confirm them on the careers page: careers page.

Common questions

Is Horizon Air hiring pilots? At the last check, on 25 October 2026, Horizon’s pilot page, as search results showed it, said Horizon was hiring Experienced First Officers, and Alaska Air Group’s careers site, downloaded on 24 October, said Horizon had open pilot jobs. We could not open a posting, and the copies we could date are from 2026, one with an apply-by date of 1 October 2026, so confirm that a posting is open on the Alaska Air Group careers site before you apply.

How many hours do you need to fly for Horizon Air? In search results on 25 October 2026, Horizon’s Experienced First Officer postings asked for 1,465 hours of total time or the restricted ATP’s qualifications, with 500 hours cross-country (200 if R-ATP or military qualified), 100 at night and 75 of instrument time, and 200 hours of prior qualifying time, such as second in command at a Part 121 airline; its pilot page gave 1,500 hours or the restricted ATP. The restricted ATP needs 750 hours for a US military pilot and 1,000 or 1,250 with an approved aviation degree (14 CFR 61.160).

What is prior qualifying time at Horizon Air? Flight time of the kind 14 CFR 121.436(a)(3) counts toward the 1,000 hours a Part 121 Captain needs: second in command under Part 121, pilot in command under 91.1053(a)(2)(i) or 135.243(a)(1), or pilot in command in eligible on-demand operations. Horizon’s Experienced First Officer postings, as search results showed them on 25 October 2026, ask for 200 hours of it, such as 200 hours as second in command at a Part 121 carrier, and verify it in your logbooks at the interview.

How do Horizon Air pilots move to Alaska Airlines? Through the Pilot Pathways Program. On Alaska’s Pathways page, a Horizon pilot or candidate who passes the Pathways interview with Alaska joins the Pathways List in Horizon seniority order and becomes eligible for an Alaska class date after 1,000 hours as pilot in command at Horizon, with class dates assigned by Horizon seniority. Horizon pilot candidates have their Horizon and Alaska interviews on the same day, and Alaska Air Group’s pilot jobs page presents the program as the path from Horizon to Alaska and Hawaiian.

How much do Horizon Air First Officers make? At the last check, on 25 October 2026, Horizon’s compensation page gave USD 92.72 an hour for a first-year First Officer and USD 153.68 for a first-year Captain, with a year-for-year pay match for candidates with prior Part 121 time. The page gives no monthly guarantee, so check the pay terms in the posting you apply to.