SkyWest Inc., whose SkyWest Airlines and Atlantic Southeast Airlines units provide service for United Express and Delta Connection, reported a 60 percent increase in earnings during the first quarter of 2010.
The St. George, Utah-based company reported a profit of $15 million, or 26 cents per share, during the first three months of the year, up from first-quarter 2009's $9.4 million, or 16 cents per share.
A change in the way fuel costs were handled resulted in decreased revenue for SkyWest, which saw revenue decline 6 percent to $632.2 million as partners Delta Air Lines and United Airlines purchased more of SkyWest's fuel directly.
On March 31, 2010, SkyWest's fleet totaled 456 aircraft, consisting of 406 regional jets (238 assigned to Delta Air Lines, Inc. ("Delta"), 161 assigned to United Air Lines, Inc. ("United"), five assigned to AirTran Airways, Inc. ("AirTran") and two assigned to SkyWest Airlines) and 50 EMB-120 aircraft (39 assigned to United and 11 assigned to Delta).
SkyWest Airlines, based in St. George, Utah and ASA, based in Atlanta, Georgia are wholly owned subsidiaries of SkyWest, Inc. SkyWest Airlines operates as United Express and Delta Connection carriers under contractual agreements with United and Delta. SkyWest Airlines also has a marketing agreement with AirTran. ASA operates as a Delta Connection carrier under a contractual agreement with Delta. ASA began service as a United Express carrier on February 11, 2010 under a contractual agreement with United. System-wide, SkyWest serves a total of approximately 226 cities in the United States, with approximately 2,600 daily departures.
