SkyWest Airlines

SkyWest Airlines is a North American airline owned by SkyWest, Inc. and headquartered in St. George, Utah, U.S.. Financially speaking and according to the Airlines for America definitions, SkyWest is a North American major airline. SkyWest however, operates on a regional airline level and is a member of the Regional Airline Association. SkyWest Airlines flies to 205 cities, in 42 states; Washington, D.C.; six Canadian provinces and 11 cities in Mexico and the Bahamas. The airline serves as a feeder airline, operating under contract with various major carriers. It flies as SkyWest Airlines in a partnership with Alaska Airlines, as United Express on behalf of United Airlines, as American Eagle on behalf of American Airlines, and as Delta Connection on behalf of Delta Air Lines.

As of January 2016, SkyWest Airlines employed 11,322 people throughout North America. The airline averages 1,661 departures a day, with 906 operating as United Express, 592 operating as Delta Connection, 99 operating as American Eagle and 64 operating as Alaska Airlines. In total, SkyWest carried 27.9 million passengers in 2014. The current Chairman of SkyWest, Inc. is Jerry Atkin, with Russel "Chip" Childs as CEO and Michael Thompson as President and Chief Operating Officer of SkyWest Airlines.

United Express

United Express is the brand name for the regional branch of United Airlines, under which nine individually owned regional airlines operate short and medium haul feeder flights. Mainline carriers often use regional airlines to operate services in order to increase frequency, serve routes that would not sustain larger aircraft, or for other competitive reasons. They primarily connect smaller cities with United's domestic hub airports and focus cities, although they offer some point-to-point service.

On October 1, 2010, UAL Corporation and Continental Airlines merged to form United Continental Holdings, the holding company for the newly merged United Airlines. As Continental and United merged, Continental Connection and Continental Express has gradually adopted the United Express brand name, bringing the number of operators to twelve and the number of aircraft to over 550. The first aircraft painted into the new United Express livery was an Embraer ERJ-145 operated by ExpressJet.

Airline

An airline is a company that provides air transport services for traveling passengers and freight. Airlines lease or own their aircraft with which to supply these services and may form partnerships or alliances with other airlines for mutual benefit. Generally, airline companies are recognized with an air operating certificate or license issued by a governmental aviation body.

Airlines vary from those with a single aircraft carrying mail or cargo, through full-service international airlines operating hundreds of aircraft. Airline services can be categorized as being intercontinental, domestic, regional, or international, and may be operated as scheduled services or charters.

History

The first airlines

DELAG, Deutsche Luftschiffahrts-Aktiengesellschaft was the world's first airline. It was founded on November 16, 1909 with government assistance, and operated airships manufactured by The Zeppelin Corporation. Its headquarters were in Frankfurt. The first fixed wing scheduled air service was started on January 1, 1914 from St. Petersburg, Florida to Tampa, Florida. The four oldest non-dirigible airlines that still exist are Netherlands' KLM, Colombia's Avianca, Australia's Qantas, Polish AeroTarg, and the Czech Republic's Czech Airlines. KLM first flew in May 1920, while Qantas (which stands for Queensland and Northern Territory Aerial Services Limited) was founded in Queensland, Australia, in late 1920.