SkyWest Airlines

IATA OO ICAO SKW Callsign SKYWEST
Founded	1972
Hubs	As United Express: O'Hare International Airport (Chicago) Los Angeles International Airport San Francisco International Airport Denver International Airport Portland International Airport As Delta Connection: Salt Lake City International Airport Hartsfield-Jackson Atlanta International Airport As Midwest Connect: General Mitchell International Airport (Milwaukee) As SkyWest Airlines/AirTran Airways: General Mitchell International Airport (Milwaukee)
Frequent flyer program	Midwest Miles (Midwest Connect) Mileage Plus (United Express) SkyMiles (Delta Connection) A+ Rewards (AirTran Airways)
Alliance	SkyTeam (Delta Connection) Star Alliance (United Express)
Fleet size	284 [1]
Destinations	160
Parent company	SkyWest, Inc.
Headquarters	St. George, Utah[2]
Key people	Jerry Atkin (CEO)
Website	http://www.skywest.com

SkyWest Airlines, Inc. is one of two airlines owned by SkyWest, Inc. - the other being Atlantic Southeast Airlines. It is a North American regional airline headquartered in St. George, Utah^[2], flying to 154 cities in 43 states, Canada, and Mexico. The airline serves as a feeder airline, operating under contract with various major carriers. It flies as United Express on behalf of United Airlines, as Delta Connection on behalf of Delta Air Lines, as Midwest Connect on behalf of Midwest Airlines, and as SkyWest Airlines in partnership with AirTran Airways (Starting December 4th).^[3]

Combined with Atlantic Southeast Airlines, the two make up the eighth-largest airline in terms of number of planes, operating 440 regional aircraft.

The airline employs over 11,100 people and averages 1,794 daily departures across its network. Approximately 65% of flights are operated as United Express, 31% as Delta Connection, and 4% as Midwest Connect. SkyWest's largest stations in order of departures are:^[3][4][5][6]

• Salt Lake City International Airport: 243 departures as Delta Connection and United Express
• Chicago O'Hare International Airport: 153 departures as United Express and Delta Connection
• Los Angeles International Airport: 140 departures as United Express and Delta Connection
• Denver International Airport: 137 departures as United Express and Delta Connection
• San Francisco International Airport: 117 departures as United Express and Delta Connection
• Milwaukee General Mitchell International Airport: 77 departures as Midwest Connect, Delta Connection, and United Express, and SkyWest Airlines/AirTran Airways [begins December 4]
• Portland International Airport: 23 departures as United Express and Delta Connection
• Kansas City International Airport: 12 departures as Delta Connection, and United Express

[edit] History

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Frustrated by the limited extent of existing air service, Ralph Atkin, a St. George, Utah lawyer, purchased Dixie Airlines to shuttle businessmen to Salt Lake City in 1972. After early struggles, SkyWest began steady expansion across the Western US. It became the eleventh largest regional carrier in 1984 when it acquired Sun Aire Lines of Palm Springs, California, and had its initial public offering in 1986.

In 1985 SkyWest began codesharing as Western Express, a feeder service for Western Airlines at their Salt Lake City hub, later acquired by Delta. In 1995 SkyWest began operating flights for Continental out of LAX. The relationship was discontinued two years later when SkyWest began flying for United Airlines. SkyWest's United Express flights out of LAX, SFO, and DEN became its largest operation by the late 1990s. A partnership with Continental Airlines was revived in 2003 out of IAH, and was discontinued June 2005. On Monday, August 15, 2005, Delta announced that it was selling Atlantic Southeast Airlines to the newly incorporated SkyWest, Inc. for $425 million in cash, and on Thursday, September 8, 2005, SkyWest, Inc. announced that the acquisition had been completed.

Through SkyWest Airlines and ASA, the company operates the largest regional airline in the United States.

[edit] Destinations

[edit] Fleet

A SkyWest CRJ200 at O'Hare International Airport

Embraer EMB 120 Brasilia in SkyWest livery.

As of October 30, 2009, the SkyWest fleet includes the following 284 aircraft ^{[7][8][9][10]}:

[edit] Accidents and incidents

A Metro II formerly with SkyWest

• January 15, 1987: Skywest Airlines Flight 1834 a Fairchild Metro collided with a Mooney M20 transporting an instructor and a student, while on a flight between Pocatello to Salt Lake City in the vicinity of Kearns. All 10 people on Flight 1834 and the two occupants of the Mooney were killed. [1]

• January 15, 1990: Skywest Airlines Flight 5855, a Fairchild Metro collided with terrain during an instrument approach to Elko, Nevada. There were 4 serious and 9 minor injuries.^[11]

• February 1, 1991: Skywest Airlines Flight 5569, a Fairchild Metro was awaiting departure clearance on an active runway at Los Angeles for a scheduled flight between Los Angeles and Palmdale when USAir Flight 1493 arriving from Columbus, Ohio collided with it while it was landing. Skywest 5569 was directed to move onto runway 24L for takeoff and hold in position at the intersection of taxiway 45. US1493 was cleared to land on 24L one minute later by the same local controller. One minute later, the 737 touched down, then landed on the SkyWest Metro, which was still holding in position 2400' from the runway threshold. The two planes slid down the runway, then off to the side, coming to rest against an unoccupied firehouse, and burst into flames. All 12 people on the Metro were killed (10 passengers and 2 pilots), and 22 of the 89 aboard the 737 perished (20 passengers, 1 pilot and 1 flight attendant).

• May 26, 2007: SkyWest Airlines flight 5741, an Embraer 120, was involved in a serious runway incursion when the plane nearly collided with Republic Airlines flight 4912, an Embraer 170, on intersecting runways at San Francisco. There were no reported injuries to passengers and no reported damage to either aircraft.^[12] According to the NTSB the FAA traffic controller was at fault and the aircraft were between 50 and 300 feet apart.

• January 13, 2008: A United Airlines Boeing 757 jet with maintenance workers on board at San Francisco International Airport backed into SkyWest Airlines Flight 6398, a Bombardier CRJ700 carrying 60 passengers and crew. The collision occurred at 7:30 p.m. as the 757 was being taken out of service and being moved without passengers from Gate 80 to a hangar for the night. The passengers onboard the SkyWest plane were taken off the plane, which had left its gate and was waiting to depart to Boise, Idaho. Both planes suffered tail and engine damage, but no one on board either plane was injured.^[13]

• September 7, 2008: SkyWest Airlines flight 6430, a Bombardier CRJ700 operating a United Express flight from Los Angeles, California ran off a runway after landing in San Antonio, Texas. An airport spokesman indicated that the aircraft appeared to be having mechanical difficulties, and resulted in the airport's primary runway being closed for two hours until the aircraft could be removed. No injuries were reported among the 52 passengers and four crew members on board.^[14][15]

[edit] Controversy

SkyWest has been accused of bias against legally married gay employees. A SkyWest Airlines baggage agent who married his partner last year after the California Supreme Court legalized same-sex unions says the airline is breaking state law by refusing to give his husband the free fares it provides to heterosexual spouses. Source: http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?f=/c/a/2009/10/31/BAPV1ACLGV.DTL

[edit] External links

• SkyWest Airlines
• SkyWest Magazine inflight magazine

[edit] References