SkyWest Airlines, which ended Q3 with a net profit of $89.7 million, has confirmed that it will operate 40 Mitsubishi CRJ550 aircraft on behalf of United Airlines, which it will acquire or convert in due time.
Commenting on the quarter's results, Chip Childs, the chief executive officer (CEO) of SkyWest Airlines, said that the regional carrier’s organic growth of captains during the first nine months of the year enabled incremental growth vectors for SkyWest Airlines.
“We are making significant progress in recapturing underserved markets, increasing fleet utilization, and quickly placing new aircraft deliveries into service.”
Childs concluded by thanking the airline’s employees for their work as the company continues to expand with the arrival of additional CRJ550 and Embraer E175 aircraft.
As of September 30, SkyWest Airlines had welcomed 21 E175s year-to-date (YTD), with four deliveries scheduled for Q4. In the next two years, the airline will introduce eight E175 aircraft each, with most of these deliveries going toward United Airlines’ network.
Out of the 41 completed and planned deliveries until 2026, 39 aircraft will be operated on behalf of United Airlines, with SkyWest Airlines operating one additional E175 each for Alaska Airlines and Delta Air Lines.
On October 31, SkyWest Airlines also reached an agreement with United Airlines to introduce 40 CRJ550 aircraft on behalf of the latter airline under a multi-year contract.
SkyWest Airlines detailed that it will acquire 11 second-hand CRJ550s and convert 29 of its aircraft of the type, with the regional jets entering service between late 2024 and the end of 2026, based on currently available information.
The carrier had already acquired one CRJ550 during the quarter. Ch-aviation data showed that SkyWest Airlines already has three CRJ550s. Two airframes, registered as N708EV and N709EV, were converted from CRJ700s, while one CRJ550, registered as N558GJ, was acquired from GoJet Airlines on September 4.
United Airlines markets its regional flights, which are operated by several airlines, including CommuteAir, GoJet Airlines, Mesa Airlines, SkyWest Airlines, and Republic Airways, under the brand United Express.
Data from the aviation analytics company Cirium showed that out of the total 32,407 weekly flights United Airlines has scheduled in November, 13,407, or 41.3%, will be operated by the five regional airlines.
The largest regional carrier operating flights on behalf of United Express will be SkyWest Airlines, with 6,527 weekly departures marketed by United Airlines.
Nevertheless, the carrier’s earnings released detailed that it ended Q3 with revenues of $912.7 million. With operating expenses totaling $781.3 million, SkyWest Airlines’ operating income was $131.4 million, a significant increase compared to the operating income of $49.2 million during the same quarter in 2023.
Net profit was $89.7 million, which also grew year-on-year (YoY) from $23.4 million in Q3 2023.
As of September 30, SkyWest Airlines had 484 aircraft: 258 E175, 36 CRJ900, 109 CRJ700 (including CRJ550s), and 81 CRJ200. A year prior, the regional airline had 493 aircraft, with the carrier retiring one CRJ900, eight CRJ700, and 23 CRJ200 between Q3 2023 and Q3 2024.
At the same time, block hours grew across its fleet. In Q3, SkyWest Airlines’ total block hours were 334,459, compared to 290,830 a year prior.
According to the airline, the block hours of all four cockpit types, including E175 (up 20.4%), CRJ900 (21%), CRJ700 (6.6%), and CRJ200 (2.2%), grew 15% YoY.
