SkyWest Airlines

Bombardier CRJ200 painted in SkyWest livery
IATA ICAO Call sign OO[1] SKW SKYWEST
Founded	April 26, 1972; 52 years ago (1972-04-26)
AOC #	SWIA011A[2]
Hubs	See§ Operations
Fleet size	524
Destinations	258[3]
Parent company	SkyWest, Inc.
Headquarters	St. George, Utah, U.S.
Key people	Chip Childs (CEO &President) James Welch (Chair)
Employees	14,610 (2024)
Website	skywest.com

SkyWest Airlines is an Americanregional airline headquartered inSt. George, Utah. SkyWest operates and maintains aircraft used on flights that are scheduled, marketed and sold by four partnermainline airlines. The company is contracted byAlaska Airlines (as Alaska SkyWest),American Airlines (asAmerican Eagle),Delta Air Lines (asDelta Connection), andUnited Airlines (asUnited Express). In all, it is the largestregional airline in North America when measured by fleet size, number of passengers carried, and number of destinations served.

SkyWest operates from 258 cities in theUnited States,Canada andMexico with an extensive network of routes largely set up to connect passengers between smaller airports and the largehubs of its partner airlines. In total, SkyWest carried 38.6 million passengers in 2023.

In 2024, the company operated an average of 2,190 flights per day, of which approximately 890 (41%) were United Express flights, 700 (32%) were Delta Connection flights, 380 (17%) were American Eagle flights, and 220 (10%) were Alaska Airlines flights.

Frustrated by the limited extent of existing air service,Ralph Atkin, aSt. George, Utah, lawyer, purchasedDixie Airlines on April 26, 1972, to shuttle businessmen toSalt Lake City.^[4] After early struggles, SkyWest began a steady expansion across thewestern U.S. It became the eleventh largest regional carrier in 1984 when it acquiredSun Aire Lines ofPalm Springs, California, and had itsinitial public offering in 1986.^[5]

In early 1986, SkyWest begancodesharing as Western Express, a feeder service forWestern Airlines at itsSalt Lake City hub and other mainline Western destinations utilizingEmbraer EMB 120 andFairchild Metroliner turboprop aircraft.^[6] Following the acquisition and merger of Western byDelta Air Lines in 1987, SkyWest then became aDelta Connection air carrier with codeshare service being flown on behalf of Delta to destinations in Arizona, California, Colorado, Montana, Nevada, Utah and Wyoming.^[7][8]

From 1995 through 1997, SkyWest operated codeshare service forContinental Airlines asContinental Connection on flights out of Los Angeles that were also operated as Delta Connection.

In 1997, SkyWest began operating asUnited Express in addition to Delta Connection on flights out of United Airlines hubs atSFO,LAX andDEN. SkyWest became United's largest United Express operation by the late 1990s. Flights were initially operated withEmbraer EMB 120s andBombardier CRJ200 regional jets.CRJ700s were added in the early 2000s and theEmbraer 175 were added in 2014.

A partnership with Continental was revived in 2003 asContinental Connection out ofGeorge Bush Intercontinental Airport in Houston but was discontinued in June 2005. This operation used Embraer EMB 120s.

On August 15, 2005, Delta soldAtlantic Southeast Airlines to the newly incorporated SkyWest, Inc., for $425 million in cash.^[9] The acquisition was completed on September 8, 2005.^[10]

In 2007, SkyWest began code sharing withMidwest Airlines at its hubs in Milwaukee and Kansas City usingBombardier CRJ200 aircraft. In 2010 the codeshare with Midwest had ended, and a new codeshare agreement began withAirTran Airways at Milwaukee. On September 6, 2011,AirTran Airways ended its codesharing and partnership with SkyWest.^[11] Shortly after, SkyWest began a codesharing agreement withUS Airways to operateCRJ200 aircraft from US Airways' hub inPhoenix, Arizona.^[12]

On August 4, 2010, SkyWest, Inc., announced that it planned to acquireExpressJet and merge it with SkyWest subsidiaryAtlantic Southeast Airlines in a deal reported to have a value of $133 million. The purchase aligned the largest commuter operations ofUnited Airlines andContinental Airlines, who were in a merger process, and was approved on September 13, 2010, by the Federal Trade Commission.^[13]

In May 2011, SkyWest replacedHorizon Air on six routes on theWest Coast being operated forAlaska Airlines. The flights were based out of Seattle and Portland and flew to several California cities, includingFresno,Burbank, Santa Barbara andOntario. Horizon Air had been operating these routes withBombardier CRJ700 aircraft however Horizon retired this aircraft from its fleet. Alaska Airlines had a similar agreement withPenAir for Alaskan flights and Horizon Air for flights in thelower 48.^[14]

On November 15, 2012, SkyWest began a capacity purchase agreement withAmerican Airlines for 12Bombardier CRJ200 aircraft operating asAmerican Eagle from American's hub inLos Angeles, California.^[15] This codeshare agreement with American was greatly expanded over the next several years to include destinations from American's hubs at Chicago, Dallas/Fort Worth, and Phoenix. LargerCRJ700/900 aircraft were introduced to the American Eagle system in 2016, and the smaller CRJ200s were discontinued in 2020.Embraer 175 aircraft joined the American Eagle system in late 2021.

On September 6, 2017, SkyWest Airlines reported that it has entered into aircraft purchase agreements and capacity purchase agreements to acquire and fly 15 new aircraft withDelta Air Lines and 10 new aircraft withAlaska Airlines. Of the 25 aircraft, 15 Embraer 175SC aircraft will fly under an agreement with Delta in a 70-seat configuration. The Embraer 175SC is built on the same airframe as other Embraer 175 aircraft and can be retrofitted to 76 seats in the future. The agreement with Alaska includes 10 Embraer 175 aircraft which will be configured with 76 seats, similar to aircraft SkyWest has previously placed into service with Alaska. Expected delivery dates of the 25 aircraft run from March 2018 through the end of 2018.^[16]

On December 18, 2018, SkyWest, Inc., announced that it would sell ExpressJet Airlines to another airline holding company with ties to United Airlines, ExpressJet's sole client.^[17][18] The $70 million sale closed on January 23, 2019.^[19]

In early 2024, regional carrier SkyWest Airlines purchased a 25% ownership stake ofContour Airlines to gain access to its infrastructure, personnel, and operational expertise as it launches its own Part 135 operation. SkyWest also plans to supply Contour withCRJ200 aircraft and partner with the airline to both recruit young pilots and provide opportunities to pilots who would otherwise need to retire due to age.^[20][21]

In March 2024, SkyWest Airlines signed a deal with United Airlines to operate an additional 20 Embraer 175 aircraft for United Express. Unlike other aircraft, these are financed by United Airlines, not SkyWest.^[22]

The vast majority of SkyWest's contracts are fixed-fee, with partner airlines paying a set amount for each flight operated, regardless of the number of passengers carried. The remaining 7% of flights are operated under a pro-rate contract, with SkyWest assuming all costs, setting fares, retaining all revenue from non-connecting passengers, and splitting the fares of connecting passengers on a pro-rated basis with the partner airline. SkyWest currently operates on a pro-rate basis on 68 routes across 10 hubs through agreements with American Airlines, Delta Air Lines, and United Airlines.^[23]

As of early 2021, SkyWest operates in 50 smaller cities that are subsidized under the federal government'sEssential Air Service program. 36 are served under theUnited Express brand and 14 under theDelta Connection brand. The state of Wyoming subsidizes service to four other airports in Wyoming and operates under the United Express brand. All subsidized routes are flown withBombardier CRJ200 regional jets.

SkyWest is a subsidiary ofSkyWest, Inc., an airline holding company that also provides contract ground handling services. SkyWest Airlines’ performance figures are fully incorporated into the accounts of its parent company, SkyWest, Inc. SkyWest Airlines stand alone figures ('SkyWest Airlines segment' data in the Group accounts) are shown below:

As of June 2024^[update], SkyWest flies to 258 destinations throughout North America across 45 states and Washington D.C., five Canadian provinces and 13 Mexican cities.^[3]

SkyWest has the largest fleet of any regional airline in the United States. Since 2015, the airline has exclusively operated jet aircraft. Most SkyWest aircraft are painted in the livery of partner carriers, but SkyWest does have a small number of aircraft in its own livery that can be operated for any partner airline as needed.

SkyWest is a major operator of theBombardier CRJ family of regional jets, was the launch customer for CRJ200, is largest operator of the CRJ200 and took delivery of the last CRJ ever built, a CRJ900.^[36][37][38]

Like most regional airlines in the United States, SkyWest is subject toscope clause requirements of its mainline carrier partners and their pilot unions; those requirements limit the size of the aircraft flown by a regional airline, measured in seat capacity.

As of February 2025^[update], the SkyWest Airlines fleet consists of the following aircraft:^[39][40]

Note: the above chart only shows aircraft in scheduled service. It does not include aircraft owned by SkyWest but that are: leased to other operators, removed from service, transitioning between agreements with partners, used as spares, parked, or in the process of being parted out.^[39]

SkyWest previously operatedEmbraer EMB 120 turboprop aircraft until 2015. The airline also operatedFairchild Metroliner turboprops.^[7] In 1984, SkyWest was operating the largest Metro propjet fleet in the world with 26 aircraft, and by 1991 the Metro fleet had grown to 35 aircraft with 15 Brasilia propjets also being operated.^[7] By 1994, the first jet, aBombardier CRJ100, was added to the fleet and by 1996 all of the Metro propjets had been retired as they were progressively replaced with Brasilia aircraft.^[7] SkyWest was also the launch customer for the CRJ200 regional jet.

According to the airline's website, at its inception SkyWest was operating all flights in the early 1970s with small propeller-driven, piston-engine aircraft, including:^[7]

• Piper Cherokee 140 – two passenger seats
• Piper Cherokee Arrow – four passenger seats
• Piper Cherokee Six – six passenger seats
• Piper Navajo – eight passenger seats
• Piper Navajo Chieftain – nine passenger seats

In October 2023, SkyWest was sued by theAssociation of Flight Attendants (AFA-CWA), who alleged that the company illegally fired two flight attendants as retaliation for engaging in protectedunion organizing activities and that the company illegally stood up acompany union in violation of theRailway Labor Act.^[43][44]

In July 2024, theUS Department of Labor also sued SkyWest, alleging that company financially supported and controlled the SkyWest Inflight Association (SIA) as a company union, and that the SIA under SkyWest's control failed to perform its duties as a representative agency and illegally barred two employees from running for leadership positions due to their support for an independent labor union.^[43][45]

• January 15, 1987:SkyWest Airlines Flight 1834, aFairchild Metroliner, collided with aMooney M20 transporting an instructor and a student, while on a flight betweenPocatello, Idaho, andSalt Lake City, in the vicinity ofKearns, Utah.^[46][47] All ten aboard both planes, eight on Flight 1834 and two in the Mooney, were killed. The accident was found to be a navigation error of the student pilot aboard the Mooney.^[48][49][50]
• January 15, 1990: SkyWest Airlines Flight 5855, a Fairchild Metroliner, collided with terrain during an instrument approach toElko, Nevada. There were four serious and nine minor injuries, but no fatalities.^[51][52] The aircraft was damaged beyond repair and was written off.^[53]
• February 1, 1991:SkyWest Airlines Flight 5569, a Fairchild Metroliner, was awaiting departure clearance on an active runway atLos Angeles International Airport for a scheduled flight toPalmdale whenUSAir Flight 1493, aBoeing 737-300 arriving fromColumbus, Ohio, collided with it while it was landing. SkyWest 5569 was directed hold on runway 24L, one minute later, US1493 was cleared to land on 24L by the same controller. The 737 landed on the SkyWest aircraft. The two planes slid down the runway, then off to the side, coming to rest against an unoccupied firehouse, and burst into flames. All twelve on the SkyWest aircraft were killed (ten passengers and two pilots), and 22 of the 89 aboard the 737 died (20 passengers, one pilot, and one flight attendant). The cause was found to be air traffic controller error.^[54][55][56]
• May 26, 2007:SkyWest Airlines Flight 5741, anEmbraer EMB 120, was involved in a seriousrunway incursion when the plane nearly collided withRepublic Airways Flight 4912, anEmbraer 170, on intersecting runways atSan Francisco International Airport. There were no reported injuries to passengers and no reported damage to either aircraft. The cause was found to be air traffic controller error.^[57]
• July 17, 2012: suspended SkyWest Airlines pilot and fugitive murder suspect Brian Hedglin, whose ex-girlfriend had been found stabbed to death at hisColorado Springs residence, stole a parked SkyWest CRJ200ER,N865AS, atSt. George Regional Airport in Utah. He clipped ajet bridge and the terminal building, then taxied it through a fence and into a parking lot, crashing into several parked cars, and shot himself dead in the aircraft aisle.N865AS was damaged beyond repair and written off; there was no one else aboard and no reported injuries to anyone but Hedglin.^[58][59]

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