Item 2. Management’s Discussion and Analysis
ITEM 2: MANAGEMENT’S DISCUSSION AND ANALYSIS OF FINANCIAL CONDITION AND RESULTS OF OPERATIONS
The following discussion and analysis presents factors that had a material effect on the results of operations of SkyWest, Inc. (“SkyWest” “we” or “us”) during the three-month periods ended March 31, 2025 and 2024. Also discussed is our financial condition as of March 31, 2025, and December 31, 2024. You should read this discussion in conjunction with our condensed consolidated financial statements for the three months ended March 31, 2025, including the notes thereto, appearing elsewhere in this Report. This discussion and analysis contains forward-looking statements. Please refer to the section of this Report entitled “Cautionary Statement Concerning Forward-Looking Statements” for discussion of uncertainties, risks and assumptions associated with these statements.
Cautionary Statement Concerning Forward-Looking Statements
Certain of the statements contained in this Report should be considered “forward-looking statements” within the meaning of the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995. These forward-looking statements may be identified by words such as “may,” “will,” “expect,” “intend,” “forecast,” “anticipate,” “believe,” “estimate,” “plan,” “project,” “could,” “should,” “hope,” “likely,” and “continue” and similar terms used in connection with statements regarding our outlook, anticipated operations, the revenue environment, our contractual relationships, and our anticipated financial performance. These statements include, but are not limited to, statements about the continued demand for our product, the effect of economic conditions on SkyWest’s business, financial condition and results of operations, the scheduled aircraft deliveries, fleet expansion and anticipated fleet size for SkyWest in upcoming periods, expected production levels in future periods and associated staffing challenges, pilot attrition trends, SkyWest’s coordination with United Airlines, Inc. (“United”), Delta Air Lines, Inc. (“Delta”), American Airlines, Inc. (“American”) and Alaska Airlines, Inc. (“Alaska”) (each, a “major airline partner” and together, “major airline partners”) to optimize the delivery of aircraft under previously announced agreements and quickly placing new aircraft deliveries into service, the expected terms, timing and benefits related to SkyWest’s leasing, strategic partnership and joint venture transactions, SkyWest’s provision of assets to Corporate Flight Management, Inc. d/b/a Contour Airlines (“Contour”), scheduled flight service to smaller communities, increasing the utilization and efficiency of all fleet types as well as SkyWest’s future financial and operating results, plans, objectives, expectations, estimates, intentions and outlook, and other statements that are not historical facts. All forward-looking statements included in this Report are made as of the date hereof and are based on information available to SkyWest as of such date. SkyWest assumes no obligation to update any forward-looking statements unless required by law. Readers should note that many factors could affect the future operating and financial results of SkyWest and could cause actual results to vary materially from those expressed in forward-looking statements set forth in this Report. These factors include, but are not limited to the challenges of competing successfully in a highly competitive and rapidly changing industry; developments associated with fluctuations in the economy and the demand for air travel, including related to inflationary pressures, and related decreases in customer demand and spending; uncertainty regarding potential future outbreaks of infectious diseases or other health concerns, and the consequences of such outbreaks to the travel industry, including travel demand and travel behavior, and our major airline partners in general and the financial condition and operating results of SkyWest in particular; the prospects of entering into agreements with existing or other carriers to fly new aircraft; uncertainty regarding timing and performance of key third-party service providers; ongoing negotiations between SkyWest and its major airline partners regarding their contractual obligations; uncertainties regarding operation of new aircraft; the ability to attract and retain qualified pilots, including captains, and related staffing challenges; the impact of regulatory issues such as pilot rest rules and qualification requirements; the ability to obtain aircraft financing; the financial stability of SkyWest’s major airline partners and any potential impact of their financial condition on the operations of SkyWest; fluctuations in flight schedules, which are determined by the major airline partners for whom SkyWest conducts flight operations; variations in market and economic conditions; significant aircraft lease and debt commitments; estimated useful life of long-lived assets, residual aircraft values and related impairment charges; labor relations and costs; the impact of global instability; rapidly fluctuating fuel costs and potential fuel shortages; the impact of weather-related, natural disasters and other air safety incidents on air travel and airline costs; aircraft deliveries; uncertainty regarding ongoing hostility between Russia and the Ukraine, as well as Israel and Hamas, and the related impacts on macroeconomic conditions and on the international operations of any of our major airline partners as a result of such conflict; the availability of parts used in connection with maintenance and repairs of the aircraft; the availability of suitable replacement aircraft for aging aircraft; the impact of recently enacted and proposed U.S. tariffs on global economic conditions and the financial markets, passenger demand, the cost of aircraft parts and supplies sourced internationally and the cost of service providers located outside of
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the United States; as well as the other factors identified under the heading “Risk Factors” in Part I, Item 1A of our Annual Report on Form 10-K for the year ended December 31, 2024, under the heading “Risk Factors” in Part II, Item 1A of this Report, elsewhere in this Report, in our other filings with the Securities and Exchange Commission (the “SEC”) and other unanticipated factors.
There may be other factors that may affect matters discussed in forward-looking statements set forth in this Report, which factors may also cause actual results to differ materially from those discussed. We assume no obligation to publicly update any forward-looking statement to reflect actual results, changes in assumptions or changes in other factors affecting these statements other than as required by applicable law.
Overview
We have the largest regional airline operation in the United States through our operating subsidiary SkyWest Airlines, Inc. (“SkyWest Airlines”). As of March 31, 2025, we offered scheduled passenger and air freight service with approximately 2,350 total daily departures to destinations in the United States, Canada and Mexico. Our fleet of Embraer E175 regional jet aircraft (“E175”), Canadair CRJ900 regional jet aircraft (“CRJ900”) and Canadair CRJ700 regional jet aircraft (“CRJ700”), including a 50-seat configuration of the CRJ700 aircraft, commonly referred to as a “CRJ550,” have a multiple-class seat configuration, whereas our Canadair CRJ200 regional jet aircraft (“CRJ200”) have a single-class seat configuration. During 2022, we formed SkyWest Charter, LLC (“SWC”), which offers on-demand charter services using CRJ200 aircraft in a 30-seat configuration. As of March 31, 2025, we had 626 total aircraft in our fleet, including 488 aircraft in scheduled service or under contract pursuant to our code-share agreements, summarized as follows:
E175
CRJ900
CRJ700/CRJ550
CRJ200
Total
United
114
—
27
77
218
Delta
86
35
19
—
140
American
20
—
68
—
88
Alaska
42
—
—
—
42
Aircraft in scheduled service or under contract
262
35
114
77
488
SWC
—
—
—
9
9
Leased to third parties
—
5
35
—
40
Other (1)
—
9
27
53
89
Total Fleet
262
49
176
139
626
(1) As of March 31, 2025, other aircraft included: supplemental spare aircraft supporting our code-share agreements that may be placed under future code-share or leasing agreements, aircraft transitioning between code-share agreements with our major airline partners or aircraft that are scheduled to be disassembled for use as spare parts.
Our business model is based on providing scheduled regional airline service under code-share agreements (commercial agreements between airlines that, among other things, allow one airline to use another airline’s flight designator codes on its flights) with our major airline partners. In exchange for such services, our major airline partners pay us either fixed fees to operate the flight, referred to as “capacity purchase agreement,” or we receive a percentage of applicable passenger ticket revenues on the designated flights we operate, referred to as “prorate agreement.” Our success is principally centered on our ability to meet the needs of our major airline partners by providing a reliable and safe operation at attractive economics. From March 31, 2024, to March 31, 2025, we made changes to our fleet, including the addition of five new E175 aircraft and 17 partner-financed E175 aircraft.
We anticipate our fleet will continue to evolve, as we are scheduled to add a total of 15 new E175 aircraft with United from 2025 to 2026 and one new E175 aircraft with Alaska in 2025. We also have multiple agreements with United to place 38 used CRJ550 aircraft into service throughout 2025 and 2026. Timing of placing these additional aircraft into service, including delivery timing on acquired aircraft, may be subject to change as we are coordinating with our major airline partners in response to labor availability or other factors. Our primary objective in the fleet changes is to improve our profitability by adding new E175 aircraft and used CRJ700, CRJ550, CRJ900 and E175 aircraft, commonly referred to as “dual-class CRJ aircraft” to capacity purchase agreements or prorate agreements, and potentially removing older aircraft from service that typically require higher maintenance costs.
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As of March 31, 2025, approximately 44.7% of our aircraft in scheduled service or under contract were operated for United, approximately 28.7% were operated for Delta, approximately 18.0% were operated for American and approximately 8.6% were operated for Alaska.
Historically, multiple contractual relationships with major airlines have enabled us to reduce our reliance on any single major airline code and to enhance and stabilize operating results through a mix of capacity purchase agreements and prorate agreements. For the three months ended March 31, 2025, our capacity purchase revenue represented approximately 85.7% of our total flying agreements revenue and our prorate and SWC revenue, combined, represented approximately 14.3% of our total flying agreements revenue. On capacity purchase routes, the major airline partner controls scheduling, ticketing, pricing and seat inventories and we are compensated by the major airline partner at contracted rates based on completed block hours (measured from takeoff to landing, including taxi time), flight departures, the number of aircraft under contract and other operating measures. We control scheduling, pricing and seat inventories on certain prorate routes, and we share passenger fares with our major airline partners according to prorate formulas. We are also responsible for the operating costs of the prorate flights, including fuel and airport costs.
First Quarter Summary
We had total operating revenues of $948.5 million for the three months ended March 31, 2025, an 18.0% increase compared to total operating revenues of $803.6 million for the three months ended March 31, 2024. We had net income of $100.6 million, or $2.42 per diluted share, for the three months ended March 31, 2025, compared to net income of $60.3 million, or $1.45 per diluted share, for the three months ended March 31, 2024. The significant items affecting our revenue and operating expenses during the three months ended March 31, 2025, are outlined below:
Revenue
The number of aircraft we have in scheduled service or under contract pursuant to our code-share agreements and the number of block hours we incur on our flights are primary drivers of our flying agreements revenue under our capacity purchase agreements. The number of flights we operate and the corresponding number of passengers we carry are the primary drivers of our revenue under our prorate agreements. The number of aircraft we have in scheduled service or under contract pursuant to our code-share agreements increased from 475 as of March 31, 2024 to 488 as of March 31, 2025, or by 2.7%; and the number of block hours increased from 289,801 for the three months ended March 31, 2024 to 352,155 for the three months ended March 31, 2025, or by 21.5%, due to an increase in scheduled daily utilization of our aircraft driven by an increase in the number of available captains.
Our capacity purchase revenue increased $108.0 million, or 15.9%, for the three months ended March 31, 2025, as compared to the three months ended March 31, 2024, primarily as a result of an increase in completed block hours for the comparable periods. As a result of a higher number of passengers carried on our prorate routes and an increase in the number of prorate and charter flights operated year-over-year, our prorate and SWC revenue increased $29.7 million, or 29.4%, for the three months ended March 31, 2025, as compared to the three months ended March 31, 2024.
Operating Expenses
Our total operating expenses increased $105.0 million, or 14.9%, for the three months ended March 31, 2025, compared to the three months ended March 31, 2024. The increase in operating expenses was primarily due to an increase in our direct operating expenses associated with the increase in the number of flights we operated for the three months ended March 31, 2025, compared to the three months ended March 31, 2024. Departures increased from 169,432 for the three months ended March 31, 2024 to 201,838 for the three months ended March 31, 2025, or by 19.1%, and our total block hours increased 21.5% for the three months ended March 31, 2025, as compared to the three months ended March 31, 2024. Additional details regarding the increase in our operating expenses are described in the section of this Report entitled “Results of Operations.”
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Fleet Activity
The following table summarizes our fleet scheduled for service or under contract as of:
Aircraft in Service or Under Contract
March 31, 2025
December 31, 2024
March 31, 2024
E175s
262
262
240
CRJ900s
35
36
41
CRJ700s/CRJ550s
114
119
105
CRJ200s
77
75
89
Total
488
492
475
Critical Accounting Policies and Estimates
Our significant accounting policies are summarized in Note 1 to our consolidated financial statements for the year ended December 31, 2024, and Item 7, “Management’s Discussion and Analysis of Financial Condition and Results of Operations,” which are presented in our Annual Report on Form 10-K for the year ended December 31, 2024. Critical accounting policies are those policies that are most important to the preparation of our consolidated financial statements and require management’s subjective and complex judgments due to the need to make estimates about the effect of matters that are inherently uncertain. Our critical accounting policies relate to revenue recognition, long-lived assets, and income tax. The application of these accounting policies involves the exercise of judgment and the use of assumptions as to future uncertainties and, as a result, actual results will likely differ, and may differ materially, from such estimates. There have been no significant changes in our critical accounting estimates during the three months ended March 31, 2025.
Recent Accounting Pronounceme nts
See Note 1 to the condensed consolidated financial statements for a description of recent accounting pronouncements.
Results of Operations
Three Months Ended March 31, 2025 and 2024
Operational Statistics
The following table sets forth our major operational statistics and the associated percentage changes for the periods identified below. The increase in block hours, departures and passengers carried during the three months ended March 31, 2025, compared to the three months ended March 31, 2024, was primarily due to an increase in the number of available captains during the three months ended March 31, 2025, compared to the three months ended March 31, 2024, which allowed for a higher scheduled utilization of our aircraft.
For the three months ended March 31,
Block hours by aircraft type:
2025
2024
% Change
E175s
207,362
178,985
15.9
%
CRJ900s
22,988
17,392
32.2
%
CRJ700s/CRJ550s
75,077
58,285
28.8
%
CRJ200s
46,728
35,139
33.0
%
Total block hours
352,155
289,801
21.5
%
Departures
201,838
169,432
19.1
%
Passengers carried
10,390,364
9,149,453
13.6
%
Passenger load factor
78.6
%
80.8
%
(2.2)
pts
Average passenger trip length (miles)
465
461
0.9
%
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Operating Revenues
The following table summarizes our operating revenue for the periods indicated (dollar amounts in thousands):
For the three months ended March 31,
2025
2024
$ Change
% Change
Flying agreements
$
915,994
$
778,289
$
137,705
17.7
%
Lease, airport services and other
32,461
25,325
7,136
28.2
%
Total operating revenues
$
948,455
$
803,614
$
144,841
18.0
%
Flying agreements revenue primarily consists of revenue earned on flights we operate under our capacity purchase agreements and prorate agreements with our major airline partners and on-demand charter flights. Lease, airport services and other revenues consist of revenue earned from leasing aircraft and spare engines to third parties separate from our capacity purchase agreements and providing airport counter, gate and ramp services.
We disaggregate our flying agreements revenue into the following categories (dollar amounts in thousands):
For the three months ended March 31,
2025
2024
$ Change
% Change
Capacity purchase agreements flight operations revenue
$
639,153
$
544,160
$
94,993
17.5
%
Capacity purchase agreements aircraft lease revenue
146,027
133,045
12,982
9.8
%
Prorate agreements and SWC revenue
130,814
101,084
29,730
29.4
%
Flying agreements revenue
$
915,994
$
778,289
$
137,705
17.7
%
The increase in “Capacity purchase agreements flight operations revenue” of $95.0 million, or 17.5%, was primarily due to a 21.5% increase in block hour production and an increase in the recognition of revenue that was previously deferred related to fixed monthly payments for flight operations received under our capacity purchase agreements for the three months ended March 31, 2025, compared to the three months ended March 31, 2024. Under our capacity purchase agreements, we are paid a fixed amount per month per aircraft over the contract term. We recognize the total projected fixed monthly payments per aircraft as revenue proportionately to the number of block hours we complete for each reporting period, relative to the estimated number of block hours we anticipate completing over the remaining contract term. Under our capacity purchase agreements, the performance obligation of each completed flight is measured in block hours incurred for each completed flight. Based on the number of completed block hours during the three months ended March 31, 2025, we recognized $9.6 million of previously deferred revenue, net of unbilled revenue, related to the non-lease fixed monthly payments we received associated with our flight operations revenues. For the three months ended March 31, 2024, we recognized $0.4 million of previously deferred revenue, net of unbilled revenue, related to non-lease fixed monthly payments received associated with our flight operations revenues. The timing of our revenue recognition related to the fixed payments associated with our flight operations will be adjusted over the remaining contract term for each capacity purchase agreement based on the number of block hours we complete each reporting period relative to the number of block hours we anticipate completing over the remaining contract term of each capacity purchase agreement.
The increase in “Capacity purchase agreements aircraft lease revenue” of $13.0 million, or 9.8%, was primarily due to a contract extension that reallocated certain fixed monthly lease revenue from flight operations revenue under one of our capacity purchase agreements during the three months ended March 31, 2025. Under our capacity purchase agreements, a portion of the consideration we are paid is designed as reimbursement for certain aircraft ownership costs and is considered lease revenue, including fixed monthly payments and variable payments. We recognize the fixed monthly lease payments as lease revenue using the straight-line basis over the capacity purchase agreement term and variable lease payments are recognized in the period when the block hours are completed. Additionally, we recognized $3.3 million of previously deferred lease revenue, net of unbilled revenue, during the three months ended March 31, 2025, using the straight-line basis for fixed monthly lease payments, compared to recognizing $0.5 million of previously deferred revenue during the three months ended March 31, 2024.
The deferred revenue balance applicable to each contract will be recorded as revenue over the term of each respective contract. For clarity, under our “Capacity purchase agreements flight operations revenue” and “Capacity
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purchase agreements aircraft lease revenue” combined, we recognized $12.9 million of previously deferred revenue, net of unbilled revenue, during the three months ended March 31, 2025, compared to recognizing $0.9 million of deferred revenue, net of unbilled revenue, during the three months ended March 31, 2024. Our total deferred revenue balance associated with our “Capacity purchase agreements flight operations revenue” and our “Capacity purchase agreements aircraft lease revenue,” net of unbilled revenue, was $309.5 million as of March 31, 2025, compared to total deferred revenue, net of unbilled revenue, of $322.4 million as of December 31, 2024.
The increase in prorate agreements and SWC revenue of $29.7 million, or 29.4%, was primarily due to an increase in prorate passengers and passenger revenue we received on routes we operated under our prorate agreements during the three months ended March 31, 2025, compared to the three months ended March 31, 2024. Additionally, a portion of the increase was attributed to an increase in SWC revenue during the three months ended March 31, 2025, compared to the three months ended March 31, 2024.
The increase in lease, airport services and other revenues of $7.1 million, or 28.2%, was primarily due to an increase in the number of leased assets and lease rates for leases to third parties during the three months ended March 31, 2025, compared to the three months ended March 31, 2024.
Operating Expenses
Individual expense components attributable to our operations are set forth in the following table (dollar amounts in thousands):
For the three months ended March 31,
2025
2024
$ Change
% Change
Salaries, wages and benefits
$
377,311
$
350,999
$
26,312
7.5
%
Aircraft maintenance, materials and repairs
209,100
145,415
63,685
43.8
%
Depreciation and amortization
89,446
95,870
(6,424)
(6.7)
%
Airport-related expenses
27,823
20,888
6,935
33.2
%
Aircraft fuel
24,488
21,164
3,324
15.7
%
Other operating expenses
80,910
69,772
11,138
16.0
%
Total operating expenses
$
809,078
$
704,108
$
104,970
14.9
%
Salaries, wages and benefits. The $26.3 million, or 7.5%, increase in salaries, wages and benefits was primarily due to an increase in direct labor costs that resulted from the higher number of flights we operated during the three months ended March 31, 2025, compared to the three months ended March 31, 2024.
Aircraft maintenance, materials and repairs. The $63.7 million, or 43.8%, increase in aircraft maintenance expense was primarily due to incremental maintenance costs incurred on our CRJ fleet and an increase in our flight volume, which increased our maintenance activity and related expenses, for the three months ended March 31, 2025, compared to the three months ended March 31, 2024 .
Depreciation and amortization. The $6.4 million, or 6.7%, decrease in depreciation and amortization expense was primarily a result of extending the estimated useful lives on our CRJ700/CRJ550 fleet by an average of three years and revising the residual values of the assets accordingly during the fourth quarter of 2024, offset by an increase in depreciation expense related to the acquisition of five new E175 aircraft and spare engines since March 31, 2024.
Aircraft fuel. The $3.3 million, or 15.7%, increase in fuel cost was primarily due to an increase in the number of flights we operated under our prorate agreements and under SWC and the corresponding increase in gallons of fuel we purchased, offset by a decrease in our average fuel cost per gallon from $3.51 for the three months ended March 31, 2024 to $3.03 for the three months ended March 31, 2025. We purchase and incur expense for all fuel on flights operated under our prorate agreements and SWC. All fuel costs incurred under our capacity purchase agreements are either purchased directly by our major airline partner, or if purchased by us, we record the direct reimbursement as a reduction to our fuel expense. The following table summarizes the gallons of fuel we purchased under our prorate agreements and SWC, for the periods indicated:
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For the three months ended March 31,
(in thousands)
2025
2024
% Change
Fuel gallons purchased
8,073
6,025
34.0
%
Fuel expense
$
24,488
$
21,164
15.7
%
Airport-related expenses. Airport-related expenses include airport-related customer service costs such as outsourced airport gate and ramp agent services, airport security fees, passenger interruption costs, deicing, landing fees and station rents. For clarity, our employee airport customer service labor costs are reflected in salaries, wages and benefits and customer service labor costs we outsource to third parties are included in airport-related expenses. The $6.9 million, or 33.2%, increase in airport-related expenses for the three months ended March 31, 2025, compared to the three months ended March 31, 2024, was primarily due to an increase in subcontracted airport services, weather related aircraft deicing costs and landing fees as a result of an increase in the number of flights we operated under our prorate agreements.
Other operating expenses. Other operating expenses primarily consist of aircraft rentals, property taxes, hull and liability insurance, simulator costs, crew per diem, crew hotel costs and credit loss reserves. The $11.1 million, or 16.0%, increase in other operating expenses was primarily related to an increase in other operating costs, such as crew per diem and crew hotel costs, as a result of the higher number of flights we operated during the three months ended March 31, 2025, compared to the three months ended March 31, 2024.
Summary of interest expense, interest income, other expense, net and provision for income taxes
Interest Expense. Interest expense decreased $2.7 million, or 9.1%, for the three months ended March 31, 2025 as compared to the three months ended March 31, 2024. The decrease in interest expense was primarily related to a decrease in outstanding debt. At March 31, 2025 we had $2.6 billion of outstanding debt, compared to $2.9 billion at March 31, 2024. Our average effective interest rate for the three months ended March 31, 2025 and 2024, was 4.3% and 4.1%, respectively.
Interest income. Interest income decreased $1.5 million, from $11.6 million for the three months ended March 31, 2024, to $10.1 million for the three months ended March 31, 2025. The decrease in interest income was primarily related to a decrease in our marketable securities balance from $641.2 million at March 31, 2024, to $571.9 million at March 31, 2025.
Other expense, net. Other expense, net decreased $0.5 million during the three months ended March 31, 2025, compared to the three months ended March 31, 2024. Other expense, net primarily consists of the unrealized and realized gains and losses on our investments in other companies, income or loss related to our equity method investments and gains or losses on the sale of assets. The decrease in other expense, net was primarily a result of a decrease in the fair value of our investments in other companies for the three months ended March 31, 2025, compared to the three months ended March 31, 2024.
Provision for income taxes. For the three months ended March 31, 2025 and 2024, our effective income tax rates were 16.7% and 24.8%, respectively, which included the statutory federal income tax rate of 21% and other reconciling income tax items, including state income taxes, the impact of non-deductible expenses and a discrete tax benefit on employee equity awards that vested during the period. The decrease in the effective tax rate was primarily related to a higher discrete tax benefit from additional tax deductions generated from employee equity awards that vested for the three months ended March 31, 2025, compared to the three months ended March 31, 2024.
Net income. Primarily due to the factors described above, we generated net income of $100.6 million, or $2.42 per diluted share, for the three months ended March 31, 2025, compared to net income of $60.3 million, or $1.45 per diluted share, for the three months ended March 31, 2024.
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Our Business Segments
Three Months Ended March 31, 2025 and 2024
For the three months ended March 31, 2025, our reportable segments, which were the basis of our internal financial reporting, consisted of (1) the operations of SkyWest Airlines and SWC (collectively, “SkyWest Airlines and SWC”) and (2) SkyWest Leasing activities. Our segment disclosure relates to components of our business for which separate financial information is available to, and regularly evaluated by, our chief operating decision maker.
The following table sets forth our SkyWest Airlines and SWC segment data for the three months ended March 31, 2025 and 2024 (in thousands):
For the three months ended March 31,
(dollar amounts in thousands)
2025
2024
$ Change
% Change
Operating revenues
$
801,651
$
646,809
$
154,842
23.9
%
Salaries, wages and benefits
376,646
350,334
26,312
7.5
%
Aircraft maintenance, materials and repairs
201,476
141,090
60,386
42.8
%
Depreciation and amortization
37,748
36,108
1,640
4.5
%
Interest expense
2,981
3,476
(495)
(14.2)
%
Other segment items (1)
128,530
110,805
17,725
16.0
%
SkyWest Airlines and SWC Segment profit (2)
$
54,270
$
4,996
$
49,274
986.3
%
(1) Other segment items for SkyWest Airlines and SWC include aircraft fuel; airport related expenses; other operating expenses consisting primarily of property taxes, hull and liability insurance, simulator costs, crew per diem and crew hotel costs; interest income and other expense, net.
(2) Segment profit is equal to income before income taxes. As a result of adopting ASC 2023-07, we included interest income and other income in the recast segment profit for each segment for the three months ended March 31, 2024 and 2025.
SkyWest Airlines and SWC Segment Profit. SkyWest Airlines and SWC segment profit was $54.3 million for the three months ended March 31, 2025, compared to $5.0 million for the three months ended March 31, 2024.
SkyWest Airlines and SWC block hour production increased 21.5%, from 289,801 for the three months ended March 31, 2024 to 352,155 for the three months ended March 31, 2025, primarily due to an increase in the number of available captains, which allowed for a higher scheduled utilization of our aircraft. Significant items contributing to the SkyWest Airlines and SWC segment profit for the three months ended March 31, 2025 are set forth below.
SkyWest Airlines and SWC operating revenues increased $154.8 million, or 23.9%, from the three months ended March 31, 2024, to the three months ended March 31, 2025, primarily as a result of an increase in block hour production during the three months ended March 31, 2025, compared to the three months ended March 31, 2024.
SkyWest Airlines and SWC’s salaries, wages and benefits expense increased $26.3 million, or 7.5%, primarily due to an increase in direct labor costs that resulted from the higher number of flights we operated during the three months ended March 31, 2025, compared to the three months ended March 31, 2024.
SkyWest Airlines and SWC’s aircraft maintenance, materials and repairs expense increased $60.4 million, or 42.8%, primarily due to incremental maintenance costs incurred on our CRJ fleet and higher flight volume, which increased the maintenance activity and related expenses, for the three months ended March 31, 2025, compared to the three months ended March 31, 2024.
SkyWest Airlines and SWC’s depreciation and amortization expense increased $1.6 million, or 4.5%, primarily due to acquiring additional assets, including engines and CRJ550 aircraft since March 31, 2024.
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SkyWest Airlines and SWC’s interest expense decreased $0.5 million, or 14.2%, primarily due to a decrease in outstanding debt from March 31, 2024 to March 31, 2025.
SkyWest Airlines and SWC’s other segment items increased $17.7 million, or 16.0%, primarily related to an increase in other operating costs, such as crew per diem and crew hotel costs, as a result of the higher number of flights we operated during the three months ended March 31, 2025, compared to the three months ended March 31, 2024.
The following table sets forth our SkyWest Leasing segment data for the three months ended March 31, 2025 and 2024 (in thousands):
For the three months ended March 31,
(dollar amounts in thousands)
2025
2024
$ Change
% Change
Operating revenues
$
146,804
$
156,805
$
(10,001)
(6.4)
%
Salaries, wages and benefits
665
665
—
—
%
Aircraft maintenance, materials and repairs
7,624
4,325
3,299
76.3
%
Depreciation and amortization
51,698
59,762
(8,064)
(13.5)
%
Interest expense
24,137
26,353
(2,216)
(8.4)
%
Other segment items (1)
(3,768)
(9,479)
5,711
(60.2)
%
SkyWest Leasing Segment profit (2)
$
66,448
$
75,179
$
(8,731)
(11.6)
%
(1) Other segment items for SkyWest Leasing include other operating expenses consisting primarily of property taxes and credit loss reserves; aircraft rentals; interest income and other expense, net.
(2) Segment profit is equal to income before income taxes. As a result of adopting ASC 2023-07, we included interest income and other income in the recast segment profit for each segment for the three months ended March 31, 2024 and 2025.
SkyWest Leasing Segment Profit. SkyWest Leasing profit decreased $8.7 million, or 11.6%, during the three months ended March 31, 2025, compared to the three months ended March 31, 2024 , primarily due to a contract extension that reallocated certain fixed monthly lease revenue to flight operations revenue under one of our capacity purchase agreements during the three months ended March 31, 2025 and a $4.2 million gain related to reclassifying assets held for sale as held and used during the three months ended March 31, 2024. There was not a comparable gain during the three months ended March 31, 2025. The decrease in depreciation and amortization expense was primarily a result of extending the estimated useful lives on our CRJ700/CRJ550 fleet during the fourth quarter of 2024.
Liquidity and Capital Resources
As of March 31, 2025, we had $750.9 million in cash and cash equivalents and marketable securities. As of March 31, 2025, we had $75.0 million available for borrowings under our line of credit. Given our available liquidity as of March 31, 2025, we believe the working capital currently available to us will be sufficient to meet our present financial requirements, including planned capital expenditures, scheduled lease payments and debt service obligations for at least the next 12 months.
Our total cash, cash equivalents and marketable securities decreased from $801.6 million as of December 31, 2024 to $750.9 million as of March 31, 2025, or by $50.7 million. At March 31, 2025, our total capital mix (measured as a ratio of total stockholder equity and total long-term debt, including current maturities) was 49.2% equity and 50.8% total long-term debt, compared to 47.4% equity and 52.6% total long-term debt at December 31, 2024. During the three months ended March 31, 2025, we repurchased 140,658 shares of our common stock for $13.7 million under a share repurchase program authorized by our Board of Directors.
As of both March 31, 2025, and December 31, 2024, we had $47.1 million in letters of credit and surety bonds outstanding with various banks and surety institutions. We had no restricted cash as of March 31, 2025, and December 31, 2024.
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Sources and Uses of Cash
Cash Position and Liquidity. The following table provides a summary of the net cash provided by (used in) our operating, investing and financing activities for the three months ended March 31, 2025 and 2024, and our total cash and marketable securities positions as of March 31, 2025, and December 31, 2024 (in thousands):
For the three months ended March 31,
2025
2024
$ Change
% Change
Net cash provided by operating activities
$
171,023
$
157,648
$
13,375
8.5
%
Net cash used in investing activities
(66,109)
(554)
(65,555)
11,833.0
%
Net cash used in financing activities
(153,303)
(125,392)
(27,911)
22.3
%
March 31,
December 31,
2025
2024
$ Change
% Change
Cash and cash equivalents
$
178,973
$
227,362
$
(48,389)
(21.3)
%
Marketable securities
571,911
574,266
(2,355)
(0.4)
%
Total
$
750,884
$
801,628
$
(50,744)
(6.3)
%
Cash Flows provided by Operating Activities
Our cash flows provided by operating activities was $171.0 million for the three months ended March 31, 2025, compared to $157.6 million for the three months ended March 31, 2024. Our operating cash flows are typically impacted by various factors including our net income, adjusted for non-cash expenses and gains such as depreciation expense, asset impairment charges, stock-based compensation expense and gains or losses on the disposal of assets; and timing of cash payments and cash receipts attributed to our various current asset and liability accounts, such as accounts receivable, inventory, accounts payable, accrued liabilities, deferred revenue and unbilled revenue.
The increase in our cash flow from operations for the three months ended March 31, 2025, compared to the three months ended March 31, 2024, was primarily due to an increase in income before income taxes for the three months ended March 31, 2025 compared the three months ended March 31, 2024, partially offset by the timing of cash payments on certain current liability accounts for the comparable periods.
Cash Flows used in Investing Activities
Our cash flows used in investing activities was $66.1 million for the three months ended March 31, 2025, compared to cash flows used in investing activities of $0.6 million for the three months ended March 31, 2024. Our investing cash flows are typically impacted by various factors including our capital expenditures, such as the acquisition of aircraft and spare engines; deposit payments and refunds of previously made deposits on new aircraft; purchase and sales of marketable securities; proceeds from the sale of assets; and timing of cash payments and cash receipts attributed to our various long-term asset and long-term liability accounts.
Excluding the purchase and sale of marketable securities, which results in the transfer of dollars between our investments in marketable securities and our cash accounts, our cash used in investing activities increased from $46.1 million for the three months ended March 31, 2024, to $68.4 million for the three months ended March 31, 2025. The increase in cash used in investing activities, excluding the transfer of dollars between our investments in marketable securities and our cash accounts, was primarily due to an increase of $35.5 million used in the acquisition of property and equipment for the three months ended March 31, 2025, compared to the three months ended March 31, 2024 . This was offset by a decrease in our cash used to acquire other long-term assets fo r the three months ended March 31, 2025.
Cash Flows used in Financing Activities
Our cash flows used in financing activities was $153.3 million for the three months ended March 31, 2025, compared to cash used in financing activities of $125.4 million for the three months ended March 31, 2024. Our financing cash flows are typically impacted by various factors including proceeds from issuance of debt, principal payments on debt obligations, repurchases of our common stock and payment of cash dividends.
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The $27.9 million increase in cash used in financing activities for the three months ended March 31, 2025, compared to the three months ended March 31, 2024, was primarily due to an increase of $20.3 million in cash used for employee income taxes paid on vested equity awards in lieu of shares and an increase of $4.9 million in cash used to purchase treasury stock during the three months ended March 31, 2025, compared to the three months ended March 31, 2024.
Significant Commitments and Obligations
General
See Note 7, “Leases, Commitments, Guarantees and Contingencies,” to the condensed consolidated financial statements for our commitments and obligations for each of the next five years and thereafter.
Purchase Commitments and Options
As of March 31, 2025, we had a firm purchase commitment for 16 new E175 aircraft from Embraer with delivery dates anticipated into 2026. We also had a firm purchase commitment to purchase 12 used CRJ900 airframes with anticipated delivery dates in 2025.
At the time of each aircraft acquisition, we evaluate the financing alternatives available to us, and select one or more of these methods to fund the acquisition. In recent years, we have issued long-term debt to finance our new aircraft. At present, we intend to fund our aircraft purchase commitments through a combination of cash on hand and debt financing. Based on current market conditions and discussions with prospective leasing organizations and financial institutions, we currently believe that we will be able to obtain financing for our committed acquisitions, as well as additional aircraft. We intend to finance the firm purchase commitment for 16 E175 aircraft with approximately 75-85% debt and the remaining balance with cash. We intend to use cash to purchase the 12 used CRJ900 airframes.
Aircraft Lease and Facility Obligations
We also have long-term lease obligations, primarily relating to our facilities, aircraft and engines. Excluding aircraft financed by our major airline partners that we operate for them under contract, we had eight aircraft under lease with remaining terms ranging from four years to five years as of March 31, 2025. These eight leased aircraft are subleased to a third party. Future minimum lease payments due under all long-term operating leases were approximately $123.9 million at March 31, 2025. Assuming a 6.2% discount rate, which is the average incremental borrowing rate we anticipate we would have incurred on debt obtained over a similar term to acquire these assets, the present value of these lease obligations would have been equal to approximately $83.7 million at March 31, 2025.
Long-term Debt Obligations
As of March 31, 2025, we had $2.6 billion of long-term debt, which consisted of $2.4 billion of debt used to finance aircraft and spare engines and $200.6 million of unsecured debt payable to the U.S. Department of the Treasury (“Treasury”). The average effective interest rate on our debt obligations was approximately 4.3% at March 31, 2025.
Under our capacity purchase agreements, our major airline partners compensate us for our costs of the aircraft on a monthly basis. The aircraft compensation structure varies by agreement, but is intended to cover either our aircraft principal and interest debt service costs, our aircraft depreciation and interest expense or our aircraft lease expense costs while the aircraft is under contract.
Guarantees
We have guaranteed the obligations of SkyWest Airlines under the United Express Agreement and the Delta Connection Agreement for the E175 aircraft. In addition, we have guaranteed certain other obligations under our aircraft financing and leasing agreements.
We have guaranteed $24.0 million in promissory notes of third parties in event the third parties default on their payments. The third parties’ loans are secured by aircraft and engines.
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Seasonality
Our results of operations for any interim period are not necessarily indicative of those for an entire year, because the airline industry is subject to seasonal fluctuations and general economic conditions. Our operations are somewhat favorably affected by increased travel on our prorate routes, historically occurring during the summer months, and unfavorably affected by decreased travel during the months of November through February and by inclement weather, which may occasionally or frequently, depending on the severity of the inclement weather in any given winter, result in cancelled flights during the winter months.
Text extracted from the filing as submitted to EDGAR. Formatting, tables and exhibits are simplified for reading; the original document is authoritative for anything you rely on.