SkyWest Inc., parent of SkyWest Airlines and Atlantic Southeast Airlines, reported third-quarter net income of $28.6 million, a 9.2% increase from $26.2 million earned in the year-ago period.
Traffic increased 9% to 4.84 billion RPMs on a 5.6% rise in capacity to 5.95 billion ASMs, pushing load factor up 2.5 points to 81.3%. Last quarter, the regional airline reported a net income of $28.6 million, compared to $26.2 million for the same quarter last year.
SkyWest acquired three new CRJ700s and will take delivery of eight in the fourth quarter, with four to follow in the 2010 first quarter. At end of the third quarter its fleet consisted of 446 aircraft.
Revenues decreased to $637.8 million for the quarter ending Sept. 30, compared to $934.1 million a year earlier. Operating revenues decreased primarily because fuel cost reimbursements from SkyWest's partners decreased.
SkyWest Airlines, based in St. George, Utah, and Atlantic Southeast Airlines, Inc. (“ASA”), based in Atlanta, Georgia are wholly owned subsidiaries of SkyWest, Inc. SkyWest Airlines operates as United Express, Delta Connection and Midwest Connect carriers under contractual agreements with United Airlines, Delta Air Lines and Midwest Airlines. ASA operates as a Delta Connection carrier under a contractual agreement with Delta Air Lines. System-wide, SkyWest, Inc. serves a total of approximately 209 cities in the United States, Canada, Mexico and the Caribbean, with approximately 2,400 daily departures.
