SkyWest Inc. Reports 50.3 Percent Increase in Combined Traffic for March

SkyWest Inc. said Monday that passenger traffic in March on its airlines rose 50.3 percent compared with a year earlier after it bought ExpressJet Airlines. The company reported that its combined, wholly-owned subsidiary airlines' paying passengers flew 2.46 billion miles last month, compared with 1.63 billion miles a year earlier. SkyWest, Inc., also reported a 52.8 percent boost in passenger departures to 122,075 for March compared to 79,873 for the same period last year. Passenger boardings for March increased 44.8 percent compared to the same period last year. The substantial increases for each of the items are due primarily to the acquisition of ExpressJet Airlines on November 12, 2010. SkyWest is the holding company for three scheduled passenger airline operations and an aircraft leasing company and is headquartered in St. George, Utah. SkyWest's scheduled passenger airline operations include SkyWest Airlines, Inc. ("SkyWest Airlines") also based in St. George, Utah, Atlantic Southeast Airlines, Inc. ("Atlantic Southeast") based in Atlanta, Georgia and recently acquired ExpressJet Airlines, Inc. (ExpressJet Airlines") based in Houston, Texas. SkyWest Airlines operates as United Express and Delta Connection carriers under contractual agreements with United Airlines and Delta Air Lines. SkyWest also operates flights for AirTran Airways under a marketing agreement. Atlantic Southeast operates as United Express and Delta Connection carriers under contractual agreements with United Airlines and Delta Air Lines. ExpressJet Airlines operates as Continental Express and United Express under contractual agreements with Continental Airlines and United Airlines and is a wholly-owned subsidiary of Atlantic Southeast. System-wide, SkyWest serves markets in the United States, Canada, Mexico and the Caribbean with approximately 3,950 daily departures and a fleet of approximately 713 regional aircraft.