Businessweek

SkyWest, Inc., through its subsidiaries, operates regional airline in the United States. The company offers scheduled passenger service with approximately 4,000 daily departures to destinations in the United States, Canada, Mexico, and the Caribbean. The company’s subsidiaries include SkyWest Airlines, Inc. (SkyWest Airlines) and ExpressJet Airlines, Inc. (ExpressJet). As of December 31, 2011, the company’s consolidated fleet consisted of a total of 732 aircraft, of which 443 were assigned to United Air Lines, Inc. (United) and Continental Airlines, Inc. (Continental); 268 were assigned to Delta Air Lines, Inc. (Delta); 8 were in preparation for new code-share assignments; 5 were assigned to Alaska Airlines (Alaska); 4 were subleased to affiliated entities; 2 were assigned to US Airways Group, Inc. (US Airways); and 2 were subleased to unaffiliated entities. The company operates two types of regional jet aircraft, including the Bombardier Aerospace (Bombardier) regional jet, which comes in three different configurations (the 50-seat Bombardier CRJ200 Regional Jet (the CRJ200), the 70-seat Bombardier CRJ700 Regional Jet (the CRJ700), and the 70-90-seat Bombardier CRJ900 Regional Jet (the CRJ900)); and the 50-seat Embraer ERJ-145 regional jet (ERJ145). It also operates the 30-seat Embraer Brasilia EMB-120 turboprop (the Brasilia turboprop). Operating Platforms SkyWest Airlines SkyWest Airlines provides regional jet and turboprop service primarily located in the midwestern and western United States. SkyWest Airlines offered approximately 1,650 daily scheduled departures as of December 31, 2011, of which approximately 1,110 were United Express flights, 500 were Delta Connection flights, 30 were Alaksa-coded flights, and 10 were US Airways Express flights. SkyWest Airlines' operations are conducted from hubs located in Chicago (O'Hare), Denver, Los Angeles, Houston, Portland, Seattle, Phoenix, San Francisco, and Salt Lake City. SkyWest Airlines' fleet as of December 31, 2011 consisted of 21 CRJ900s, all of which were flown for Delta; 96 CRJ700s, of which 70 were flown for United, 21 were flown for Delta, and 5 were flown for Alaska; 153 CRJ200s, of which 82 were flown for United, 61 were flown for Delta, 8 were in preparation for service under a code-share agreement with US Airways, and 2 were flown for US Airways; and 45 Brasilia turboprops, of which 35 were flown for United and 10 were flown for Delta. ExpressJet ExpressJet provides regional jet service principally in the United States, primarily from hubs located in Atlanta, Cleveland, Cincinnati, Chicago (O'Hare), Denver, Houston, Newark, and Washington Dulles. The combined operations of Atlantic Southeast and ExpressJet Delaware offered approximately 2,100 daily scheduled departures as of December 31, 2011, of which approximately 650 were Delta Connection flights and 1,450 were Continental Express or United Express flights. The combined fleet of Atlantic Southeast and ExpressJet Delaware consisted of 10 CRJ900s (all of which were flown for Delta), 46 CRJ700s (all of which were flown for Delta), 113 CRJ200s (99 of which were flown for Delta, and 14 of which were flown for United) and 242 ERJ145s all of which were flown for United or Continental. Government Regulation SkyWest Airlines and ExpressJet are subject to regulation by the U.S. Department of Transportation, the U.S. Federal Aviation Administration, and other governmental agencies. SkyWest Airlines and ExpressJet are also subject to certain federal and state laws relating to protection of the environment, labor relations, and equal employment opportunity. Seasonality The company’s operations are somewhat favorably affected by pleasure travel on its pro-rate routes, historically contributing to increased travel in the summer months, and are unfavorably affected by decreased business travel during the months from November through January and by inclement weather, which occasionally results in cancelled flights, principally during the winter months. Significant Events In September 2012, SkyWest Inc. announced that it has signed a capacity purchase agreement with American Airlines Inc. to operate 23 Bombardier CRJ200 regional jet aircraft under the American Eagle designation. Competition The company’s competitors include Air Wisconsin Airlines Corporation; American Eagle Airlines, Inc. (owned by American Airlines, Inc).; Comair, Inc. (owned by Delta); Compass Airlines; Horizon Air Industries, Inc. (owned by Alaska Air Group, Inc.); Mesa Air Group, Inc.; Pinnacle Airlines Corp.; Republic Airways Holdings Inc.; and Trans State Airlines, Inc. History SkyWest, Inc. was founded in 1972. The company was incorporated in Utah in 1972.