History

SkyWest Airlines is founded on April 26th when Ralph Atkin buys Dixie Airlines. The operation includes a Fixed Base Operation (FBO) that offers aircraft maintenance, air ambulance service, air charter service and flight school.

A whopping 256 people utilized SkyWest’s services that year.

“We could say that we never cancelled a flight.  We may have gotten there four hours late, but we got people to their destination.”

-Ralph Atkin

Ralph Atkin’s wife Cheri writes the first customer service manual.

FBO Moab Canyonlands Air Service is purchased for proposed Moab-SLC route.

Las Vegas is added to the flight schedule.

The Seneca is replaced with an 8-seat Piper Navajo N76LE and a 9-seat Piper Navajo Chieftain.

Jerry Atkin joins SkyWest as Director of Finance.

After the purchase of Page, Ariz.-based Page Aviation Services, business expands to include Bullfrog and Moab, Utah.

Reorganization takes place by cutting overhead costs and personnel, and selling 3 aircraft and the Moab FBO.

Jerry Atkin, at the age of 26, becomes the youngest president of a scheduled airline in the country.

SkyWest’s fifth Navajo Chieftain is acquired.

Ron Reber is hired as a ticket agent in Cedar City (CDC).  With his burger and fries spread out over the counter he asks a “familiar looking stranger” if he minds waiting while he finishes his lunch.  Robert Redford said that he didn’t mind at all.

The first 19 passenger Metro II is delivered; two more are delivered later this year.

SkyWest now serves eight destinations in four states with 150 total employees. 

Pocatello, Idaho (PIH) is opened by Ron Reber (it will become the largest SkyWest market by 1984).

SkyWest operates 87 flight segments each day.

Another Metro III is added along with two more Metro IIs.

 Grand Junction, Colo. and Twin Falls and Boise, Idaho, are added to SkyWest’s growing list of destinations.

SkyWest acquires Sun Aire. With the acquisition, SkyWest is the eleventh largest regional in the country.

SkyWest executive offices are moved from the SGU airport to downtown St. George.

Capacity increase is slowed to 15%, which is down from the 40% growth in 1987.

SkyWest’s 43rd station is opened in Inyokern, Calif.

A groundbreaking ceremony is held for the new corporate offices in St. George. The building will be 63,000 square feet, occupy 15 acres, cost $3.6 million, and house 250 employees.

New $3.6 million corporate office building opens in St. George

SkyWest's first four 50-passenger Bombardier manufactured Canadair Regional Jets arrive and are put into service.

1,800 employees make up the SkyWest team.

“Working together to be the airline of choice,” is this year’s motto.

Scenic Airlines is sold on December 28.

Aviation Week and Space Technology magazine name SkyWest “Best Managed Regional Airline of the World” for the second year in a row.

SkyWest launches www.skywest.com on July 24.

SkyWest begins pro-rate service for eight of their Delta Connection EMB 120 markets out of the SLC hub.

SkyWest serves over 10 million passengers and has net earnings of $66,787,000.00 for the year.

A maintenance base and crew domicile opens in Colorado Springs, Colo.  A new hangar will also be constructed.

SkyWest's net earnings are $81,952,000.

SkyWest welcomes a fourth aircraft type into its modern fleet of regional aircraft: the 70-passenger, Bombardier manufactured CRJ900.

April: SkyWest begins service as Midwest Connect.

For the second year in a row, SkyWest receives Bombardier’s Reliability Award for the Americas.

SkyWest, Inc. net income is $112.9 million.

SkyWest’s total planned capacity is reduced by 15% as SkyWest’s partners scale back their operations in response to fuel prices.

SkyWest unveils a new livery in blue and white.

The SkyWest Maintenance Department is awarded the 2010 AMT Employer Gold Award of Excellence from the FAA. More than 550 SkyWest mechanics earn individual AMT awards in 2010.

SkyWest Airlines wins its third Bombardier Airline Reliability Award for having the highest dispatch reliability. SkyWest places first overall in the CRJ200 product category for the North America region.

In conjunction with the opening of the new St. George Municipal Airport, SkyWest introduces the first-ever intrastate jet service to Utah with its SGU-SLC route.

SkyWest announces an agreement with Alaska Airlines to fly six West Coast routes.

SkyWest announces an agreement with US Airways to fly 16 routes in the western U.S. from Phoenix. The agreement includes 15 CRJ200 aircraft, and flying begins in December.

SkyWest begins installing wi-fi connectivity on all dual-class Delta Connection aircraft, bringing even more customer convenience onboard.

As United completes its integration with Continental, SkyWest begins additional flying from the Houston hub.

SkyWest’s InFlight Department celebrates 25 years of in-flight service. The initial new hire flight attendant class in 1986 had just 24 students. By 2011, the department consists of more than 2,200 men and women who provide for the safety and service of SkyWest's millions of passengers each year.

The SkyWest Maintenance Department receives another AMT Employer Gold Award for Excellence.

SkyWest announces a new Capacity Purchase Agreement (“CPA”) with American Airlines to operate 23 Bombardier CRJ200 regional jet aircraft under the American Eagle designation. The flights, operated primarily out of LAX, commence on Nov. 15.

SkyWest Airlines receives Bombardier’s Airline Reliability Performance Award for the third year running for the CRJ200, and is newly awarded for the CRJ700 and CRJ900 this year, sweeping all product categories.

SkyWest, Inc. announces an agreement with Embraer for the purchase of 100 new E175 dual-class jet aircraft, with 40 firm deliveries anticipated in 2014-15. The agreement also includes options for an additional 100 E175 aircraft and would be valued at $8.3 billion if all 200 aircraft are ordered. SkyWest Airlines will operate the 40 firm E175 deliveries under a new Capacity Purchase Agreement (“CPA”) with United Airlines.

SkyWest Airlines launches the Spirit of SkyWest: Crisis Fund, a unique program that allows employees to help other employees in need.

SkyWest Airlines receives Bombardier’s Airline Reliability Performance Award for the second consecutive year for the CRJ700 and CRJ900.

In July 2013, SkyWest Airlines hit a new milestone by successfully operating more than 2,000 flights in one day. 

SkyWest Airlines receives its first dual-class 76-passenger E175. The aircraft begins operations on May 17 between Chicago O'Hare International Airport and Washington Reagan National Airport.

After 26 years of service, Mike Gibson, vice president of Maintenance, retires. Bill Dykes assumes the role of VP.

SkyWest was awarded Bombardier’s Airline Reliability Award for maintaining top dispatch reliability with the CRJ700/900.

On Nov. 17, SkyWest announced they would begin transitioning to an all-jet fleet by removing the 30-seat EMB 120 Brasilia from service by summer 2015.

Jerry Atkin celebrated 40 years with SkyWest on Sept. 1. Jerry has led the way for SkyWest to become a worldwide airline leader and is the longest-tenured CEO in the industry.

Mike Thompson was named COO of SkyWest Airlines in May 2014 and is responsible to oversee the airline’s operations. He previously served as Vice President of Market Development where he managed SkyWest’s pro-rate operations and helped adapt to rapidly changing network needs across the industry.

SkyWest’s premier charity race, Mini Indy, raced into its 15th anniversary in 2015 and continues to bring together businesses from around the world to support those in need in Southern Utah.

The addition of a new hangar in Fort Wayne, Indiana allows SkyWest to better support aircraft that are flying across the United States. The hangar is capable of housing four overnight aircraft.

The first, SkyWest-operated E175s for Alaska Airlines began flying in July with service from Seattle to both Milwaukee and Oklahoma City.

SkyWest built a new 130,000 square-foot maintenance hangar in Boise, Idaho to help support large, dual-class aircraft. The facility is also geographically positioned to ensure the fleet receives regular touch time by mechanics.

On Jan. 1, 2016, Chip Childs succeeded Jerry Atkin as the President and CEO of SkyWest, Inc. Chip was also elected to the SkyWest, Inc. Board of Directors. Jerry continues actively serving the company as SkyWest, Inc. Chairman of the Board.

The SkyWest team achieves multiple operating milestones, including 30 consecutive days with zero controllable cancellations and 191 total such days in 2016.

The first, SkyWest-operated E175s for Delta Air Lines begin flying from Seattle to San Diego. The 19 new Delta E175s bring the total number of the aircraft type at SkyWest to 63 with 41 more scheduled for delivery in 2017 for a total 104.

SkyWest opens a new crew domicile and maintenance hangar in Detroit to support a growing Delta operation in the Midwest.

SkyWest, Inc. announces additional aircraft orders for Delta Airlines and Alaska Airlines. Under the agreements, SkyWest Airlines will take delivery of 30 E175 SCs for Delta and 15 E175s for Alaska. The new aircraft are all expected to be in service by the third quarter of 2018.

As the SkyWest operation grows and expands across the country, new crew domiciles are opened in Boise, San Diego and Atlanta, bringing the total number of SkyWest crew domiciles to 18.

A new 90,000 foot maintenance hangar opens in Nashville and an additional hangar is opened in Milwaukee. Additionally, SkyWest announces a new maintenance base and hangar in Oklahoma City and a new maintenance line station in Chattanooga, Tennessee to be opened in 2018.

As part of SkyWest’s celebration of 45 years of flying, SkyWest team members across the country participate in Habitat for Humanity builds in Chicago, Denver, Los Angeles and Salt Lake City to give back to the communities in which employees live and work.

SkyWest people donate more than $50,000 through the Spirit of SkyWest: Crisis Fund to aid SkyWest team members who suffered catastrophic loss due to record flooding as a result of Hurricane Flooding in Houston.

Brad Blake is named VP of SkyWest’s OCC, overseeing the SkyWest Operations Control Center as it plays an increasingly important role in SkyWest’s operation performance.