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SkyWest Airlines

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SkyWest Airlines
IATA ICAO Callsign
OO SKW SKYWEST
Founded1972
HubsAs United Express:

As Delta Connection:

As SkyWest Airlines/AirTran Airways:

Frequent-flyer programMileage Plus
(United Express)
SkyMiles
(Delta Connection)
A+ Rewards
(AirTran Airways)
AllianceSkyTeam (Delta Connection)
Star Alliance (United Express)
Fleet size286 destinations=160
Parent companySkyWest, Inc.
HeadquartersSt. George, Utah[1]
Key peopleJerry Atkin (CEO)
Websitehttp://www.skywest.com
This article is about the North American airline. For Skywest Airlines in Australia, see Skywest Airlines.

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,[1] flying to 159 cities in 41 U.S. states, 6 Canadian provinces, and Mexico City. 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 and as SkyWest Airlines in partnership with AirTran Airways.[2]

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

As of 2009, the airline employs over 10,000 people and averages approximately 1,500 daily departures across its network, with over 1000 operating as United Express, nearly 500 operating Delta Connection and 10 as AirTran Airways. SkyWest's largest stations in order of departures are:[2]

History

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. The current President and CEO of SkyWest Inc. is Jerry Atkin, with Chip Childs as acting president and COO of SkyWest Airlines.[3][1]

Destinations

Main article: SkyWest Airlines destinations

Fleet

A SkyWest Canadair Regional Jet 200 at Chicago-O'Hare International Airport.
Embraer EMB 120 Brasilia in SkyWest livery.

As of December 2009, the SkyWest fleet includes the following 289 aircraft [4][2][5]:

Type Total Passengers
(First/Economy) 		Notes
Embraer EMB 120ER Brasilia 52 30 29 operated as United Express
21 used for dedicated services
2 stored
Bombardier CRJ200
(All Variants) 		135 50 65 operated as United Express
47 operated as Delta Connection
10 operated for AirTran Airways
7 used for dedicated services
Bombardier CRJ700 78 70
66 (6/60) 		65 operated as United Express
13 operated as Delta Connection
Bombardier CRJ900 21 76 (12/64) operated as Delta Connection

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.[6]
  • 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).[8]
  • May 21, 1997: Skywest Flight 724, an Embraer EMB-120, N198SW, experienced a total loss of engine power to the right engine and associated engine fire, followed by a total loss of all airplane hydraulic systems, after takeoff from San Diego International-Lindbergh Field, San Diego, California. The airplane sustained substantial damage. The 2 pilots, 1 flight attendant, and 14 passengers were not injured. Skywest Airlines, Inc., was operating the airplane as a scheduled, domestic, passenger flight under 14 CFR Part 121. The flight was destined for Los Angeles, California. It diverted to Miramar NAS, San Diego, where it landed at 1427. Visual meteorological conditions prevailed at the time, and an IFR flight plan was filed. http://www.ntsb.gov/ntsb/brief.asp?ev_id=20001208X07943&key=1
  • 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.[9] 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.[10]
  • 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.[11][12]

References

  1. ^ a b "SkyWest Airlines - General Information". SkyWest Airlines. Retrieved 30 December 2009.
  2. ^ a b c "SkyWest Airlines Fact Sheet". SkyWest Airlines. 2009. Retrieved 30 December 2009. {{cite web}}: Unknown parameter |month= ignored (help)
  3. ^ "Skywest Executives" Copyright SkyWest.com. Reteived January 27, 2010
  4. ^ "SkyWest Airlines Fleet". SkyWest Airlines. Retrieved 30 December 2009.
  5. ^ http://www.ch-aviation.ch/airlinepage.php?code1=OO SkyWest fleet at ch-aviation.ch. Retrieved 2009-12-24
  6. ^ NTSB Report Number AAR-88/03 (NTIS Report Number PB88-910404)
  7. ^ NTSB identification DEN90FA042
  8. ^ NTSB identification DCA91MA018B
  9. ^ NTSB identification OPS07IA004A
  10. ^ Schevitz, Tanya (2008-01-14). "Jet backs into another at SFO - no injuries". San Francisco Chronicle. Retrieved 2008-09-09.
  11. ^ "United Express jet runs off San Antonio runway". WFAA. Associated Press. 2008-09-08. Retrieved 2008-09-09.
  12. ^ Hradecky, Simon (2008-09-08). "Incident: Skywest CRJ7 at San Antonio on Sep 7th 2008, ran off runway". The Aviation Herald. Retrieved 2008-09-09.
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