SkyWest, Inc., Reports Combined July 2011 Traffic for SkyWest Airlines, Atlantic Southeast Airlines and ExpressJet Airlines

ST. GEORGE, Utah, Aug. 9, 2011 /PRNewswire/ -- SkyWest, Inc., (NASDAQ: SKYW) ("SkyWest") reported a 47.6 percent increase in departures to 126,199 for July compared to 85,496 for the same period last year. Passenger boardings for July increased 48.2 percent to 5,306,265 compared to 3,581,599 for the same period last year.  SkyWest also reported a 57.5 percent increase in revenue passenger miles (RPMs) for July, while available seat miles (ASMs) increased 56.0 percent compared to July 2010.  The combined airlines generated 2.82 billion RPMs for the month, while ASMs increased to 3.38 billion. Load factor was 83.4 percent compared to 82.5 percent, up 0.9 percentage points compared to July 2010.  The substantial increases for each of the items are due primarily to the acquisition of ExpressJet Airlines on November 12, 2010.

About SkyWest

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 Airlines 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 725 regional aircraft.  This press release and additional information regarding SkyWest can be accessed at www.skywest.com

SOURCE SkyWest, Inc.