Amid labor shortage, St. George-based SkyWest looking to become ‘commuter air carrier’

ST. GEORGE — Earlier this summer St. George-based SkyWest, Inc. announced it was creating a new charter service aimed at providing flights for underserved communities in the United States.

Undated file photo | Photo courtesy of SkyWest Airlines, St. George News

The move is seen as a way to help serve destinations that have either had air service dropped or are at risk of losing it due to the pilot shortage.

Like many other industries, commercial aviation has been impacted by a labor shortage spurred by the pandemic and other factors. Many pilots have taken early retirement while others have found employment elsewhere.

Marissa Snow, a spokeswoman for SkyWest, told St. George News that the lack of pilots has forced the airline to “make adjustments” in some of the routes it offers.

Earlier this year United Airlines announced it was cutting service to 29 cities due to partner SkyWest not having enough pilots to keep those routes viable. SkyWest also had given notice to the U.S. Department of Transportation about other cuts in service before that. In some of these cases, the DOT ordered SkyWest to continue service until a replacement could be arranged.

In a move to counter the pilot shortage issue, SkyWest is asking the DOT to allow its proposed charter service to operate under flight regulation known as Part 135.

This regulation applies to commuter and on-demand charter services that use aircraft with 30 seats or less. It also provides some regulatory leeway for how many flight hours the pilot designated as the first officer is required to have.

Part 121 applies to regularly-scheduled flights and requires particular pilot certification with a minimum of 1,500 hours for both the captain and first officer piloting the plane, among other regulations.

SkyWest Airlines corporate headquarters in St. George, Utah, date unspecified | Stock photo, St. George News

While the regulations for a charter service are not as strict as those governing scheduled commercial aviation, Snow said all the pilots that SkyWest employs are held to the highest standards.

In its June 17 application to the FAA for Part 135 status for its charter service, SkyWest wrote that it plans “to conduct scheduled passenger operations as a commuter air carrier” under Part 135. The charter service is anticipated to utilize the Bombardier CJR-200 just aircraft that have been configured to carry 30 seats instead of 50.

It is anticipated the charter eventually will serve up to 25 destinations with a fleet of 18 CJR-200s.

The destinations SkyWest Charter aims to serve will fly primarily out of Denver with a handful of routes out of Chicago. Some of these proposed routes mirror the ones SkyWest announced intentions of dropping earlier this year.

“One of SkyWest’s key missions has long been to connect small and mid-size markets to the national transportation infrastructure,” Snow said in a written statement. “SkyWest Charter will be a separate operation from SkyWest Airlines and will have the resources, standards and operational expertise available to provide this service as well as or better than any carrier operating under Part 135 today, with jet aircraft and experienced senior pilots.

“In seeking commuter authority under well-established guidelines, SkyWest Charter has requested no regulation changes.”

SkyWest jet, location and date unknown | Photo courtesy of SkyWest Airlines

As for the impact the new charter service may have on St. George, Snow said none is expected.

“We don’t anticipate the creation of the SkyWest Charter to have any near-term impact on flights in and out of St. George,” she told St. George News.

While SkyWest has had to modify operations elsewhere, flights and operations out of St. George remain largely the same, and demand for flights in and out of the region “is recovering very well,” Snow added.

SkyWest’s effort to create a charter service under Part 135 has not gone unopposed, as Air Line Pilots Association, International has voiced its demand for the USDOT to reject SkyWest’s application. The ALPA argues that SkyWest is attempting to undermine airline safety regulations by skirting around Part 121 regulations regarding the flight experience of first officer pilots.

Based in St. George, SkyWest Airlines is the largest regional airline in the world and is partnered with United Airlines, Delta, American and Alaska airlines.

Copyright St. George News, SaintGeorgeUtah.com LLC, 2022, all rights reserved.

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