Daily Memo: Regional Airlines Struggle To Find Mechanics. Why Is Horizon Different?

One seemingly enduring theme in the U.S. airline industry is a shortage of certified airframe and powerplant (A&P) mechanics.

Given the typical path of a new mechanic—hook on at a regional airline before shifting to a third-party repair shop or a Part 121 carrier—the gaps are most obvious at smaller airlines.

Horizon Air is an exception to that unwritten rule. The wholly owned Alaska Air Group regional carrier has cultivated an effective and efficient workforce pipeline that feeds group-level pathways to Alaska Airlines and Hawaiian Airlines.

“Unlike a lot of my counterparts out there, our pipeline is full,” says Archie Vega, Horizon’s director of maintenance, planning, and development. “We’ve got a solid pipeline built all the way into 2027.”

Vega and his colleagues have built the pipeline, program by program, over the last five to six years. At its core is a development program that offers Part 147 students stipends and A&P test fee reimbursements. Graduates that meet the program’s qualifications get contingent job offers with Horizon.

“We focus on the Pacific Northwest, because that’s where we’re at,” Vega shared during a panel at the recent Aviation Technician Education Council (ATEC) Annual Conference. “But generally speaking, when we get out and we go to the schools, we explain up front what we’re looking for [and] when we’re looking for it.”

A steadily growing secondary school effort extends the pipeline push into younger audiences, channeling them toward careers in aviation—maintenance and other roles.

Horizon’s hiring varies in part based on its needs, but also what’s happening upstream at the group’s bigger airlines. Horizon doesn’t produce enough mechanics to satisfy its own needs as well as the group’s, so inevitably some outside hiring is done. But most of this feeds the mainline operations; Vega estimates Horizon gets 90% of its candidates through its pipeline efforts, which are modeled after similar programs on the pilot side.

The group’s needs at Hawaiian Airlines have prompted a more hands-on approach. Alaska purchased Hawaiian in 2024 and is integrating the carrier but maintaining separate branding. That includes Hawaii-based operations that need Hawaii-based technicians.

Alaska is continuing a creative program set up by Hawaiian, Arizona’s West Maricopa Education Center (West-MEC), and the Pearl Harbor Aviation Museum (PHAM) to help train local candidates to meet the airline’s needs. Under the agreement, PHAM opened an aviation maintenance technician school using West-MEC’s curriculum and Part 147 certificate. Courses are taught by a Hawaiian A&P mechanic who is paid by the airline.

The idea is to create a pipeline of homegrown talent. That keeps Hawaiian from having to recruit from the mainland and, given an employee’s desire to be close to where they call home, it increases the chances that mechanics who start there will stay there.

The first graduates from the two-year program are on track to finish up this spring.

The Alaska carriers’ efforts may not be unique, but their thoroughness ensures they are effective. As soft skills gaps have emerged, Vega and his colleagues have adjusted their approaches to help fill them.

Mock job interviews aren’t just about technical knowledge but extend into how students conduct themselves and even dress.

“We’re out on the campuses,” Vega said. “We’re working with the students. We actually assign them mentors ... folks that’ve been out of school probably one to five years.”

While executives or seasoned employees may seem like the most logical mentors and ambassadors, Alaska finds that matching students and young employees with similarly aged peers is an effective way to convey expectations.

“They can see me all they want, but they want to hear from the people that are actually out there turning wrenches,” Vega said. “When those folks can say, ‘Hey, this is what the expectations are, and this is what we want to see,’ that’s what makes a difference out there.”