Alaska Airlines unveiled a new Toy Story 5-themed livery on Horizon Air’s Embraer 175, N659QX, at Portland International Airport earlier today, putting Woody, Buzz Lightyear and Jessie on the regional carrier’s latest commemorative aircraft. The plane, part of the alaskaair regional network through Horizon Air, is being used to mark Horizon’s upcoming 45th anniversary.
The reveal lands as the airline tries to turn a maintenance-day moment into a public celebration. Horizon said the special livery is meant to honor 45 years of providing safe, caring service, and the aircraft’s paint scheme makes that message hard to miss: floating clouds run along the fuselage, while the new Toy Story 5 tech toy characters Lilypad, Snappy, Atlas and Smarty Pants join Forky and Karen Beverly on the winglets. The body of the jet also carries the callouts “Saddle Up, It’s Takeoff Time!” and “Ready for Takeoff, Partner.”
For guests and employees at Alaska and Horizon, the plane is more than a one-off tribute. It adds “To 45 and Beyond” to Alaska’s broader collection of Disney-themed aircraft, joining nine others already in service, including “Friendship and Beyond at the Disneyland® Resort,” “Tiana’s Bayou Adventure Flyer,” “Mickey’s Toontown Express” and the “Star Wars Transport to the Disneyland Resort.” The Toy Story franchise has been part of audiences’ lives for more than 30 years, which makes it a familiar fit for a livery meant to be recognized instantly on the ramp.
The celebration also comes with a built-in clock. Disney and Pixar’s Toy Story 5 is scheduled to release exclusively in theaters on June 19, and the airline’s branding is tied directly to that rollout. What Alaska and Horizon have not said is how much the promotion and paint work cost, leaving the reveal as a high-visibility anniversary marker with no public accounting behind it. That omission matters because the plane is being presented as a milestone, not an operational shift.
Horizon’s latest aircraft will keep doing the thing it was built to do: fly passengers. But from now until the film opens on June 19, it will also serve as a moving billboard for a franchise that has lasted decades and a regional airline that is choosing to celebrate its 45th year in full view.
