Horizon Air ridership surges in January

<p>Horizon Air's Santa Rosa flights continue to grow, with January ridership up 18 percent from the same month last year.</p><p>Horizon carried 14,355 passengers to and from Santa Rosa last month, compared to 12,161 a year ago, according to officials at Charles M. Schulz-Sonoma County Airport.</p><p>The flights averaged 66 percent full.</p><p>Seattle-based Horizon operates five flights a day from Santa Rosa to Los Angeles, Seattle, Portland and Las Vegas. </p><p>Horizon's Santa Rosa ridership has grown each month since May, as leisure and business travel bounce back from the 2009 downturn.</p><p>System-wide, Horizon ridership grew 3 percent in January. The carrier serves 45 cities in the Western United States, Canada and Mexico, averaging 350 flights a day.</p><p>Earlier this month, Horizon said it will adopt the brand of its sister carrier, Alaska Airlines. Horizon will continue to operate as a separate airline, however.</p><p>U.S. airlines have seen revenues grow for 12 consecutive months, the Air Transport Association reported in January. </p><p>“These revenue results reflect ongoing strengthening in demand for travel by air as we enter 2011,” said ATA vice president and chief economist John Heimlich.</p>