ST. GEORGE – /PRNewswire/ — SkyWest, Inc. (NASD:SKYW) announced yesterday that it has signed a Capacity Purchase Agreement with American Airlines, Inc. to operate 23 Bombardier CRJ200 regional jet aircraft under the American Eagle designation.
SkyWest currently anticipates that it will commence its American flights on November 15, 2012, with all 23 aircraft being placed in service prior to end of the first quarter 2013.
SkyWest intends to source the aircraft from its existing fleet where they have previously been operated on behalf of another major partner and anticipates that 12 of the aircraft will be flown by SkyWest Airlines, Inc. and 11 aircraft will be flown by ExpressJet Airlines, Inc. SkyWest also anticipates that the American aircraft will be primarily operated out of Los Angeles International Airport and Dallas/Fort Worth International Airport.
The CPA, which has a term of four years, provides for SkyWest, through its operating airlines SkyWest Airlines and ExpressJet Airlines, to be compensated in similar fashion to existing capacity purchase agreements with SkyWest’s other major partners.
“This agreement is indicative of the credibility of the people and the operational quality of SkyWest, Inc.,” said Bradford R. Rich, President — SkyWest, Inc.
“We look forward to operating under the American Eagle designation,” Rich said, “and establishing ourselves as a trusted and valuable long-term partner for American.”
This article derives from a more extensive press release issued by Skywest, with several qualifications; for example, it contains forward-looking statements based on information available to SkyWest as of the release date. Readers should note that many factors could affect the future operating and financial results of SkyWest, SkyWest Airlines and ExpressJet Airlines, and could cause actual results to vary materially from those expressed in forward-looking statements set forth in this release.
To view the entire Sept. 12, 2012 press release please visit www.skywest.com.
Just a few months ago SKYW was trading at a market cap of around 300 million, which was absurd. The market seems to be catching up with a logical valuation of the company which is $1 billion+ in my opinion. Skywest is the benchmark for regional airlines. The story and the chart are both looking excellent and if you took a position now, you could reasonably expect a 50-100% return in the next year thanks to the idiotic analysts that have consistently trashed and undervalued the industry and Skywest in particular.
The stock price has risen 13% since my previous post. I predict it will make a strong move for the 52 week high of 14.32 and break through easily.
SKYW is now trading at $14.61 and is in blue sky territory. … that chart looks good. Stocks are so predictable.
Ed. ellipsis