Skywest Inc (SKYW) SEC Filing 10-K Annual report for the fiscal year ending Saturday, December 31, 2011

Exhibit 99.1

NEWS RELEASE

For Further Information Contact:

Michael J. Kraupp

Chief Financial Officer and Treasurer

Telephone:  (435) 634-3212

Fax:  (435) 634-3205

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE:          February 16, 2012

SKYWEST, INC. ANNOUNCES FOURTH QUARTER 2011 RESULTS

St. George, Utah—SkyWest, Inc. (“SkyWest”) (NASDAQ: SKYW) today reported operating revenues of $899.9 million for the quarter ended December 31, 2011, compared to $796.3 million for the same period last year.  SkyWest also reported a net loss of $(18.0) million, or $0.35 per basic and diluted share, for the quarter ended December 31, 2011, compared to $37.2 million of net income, or $0.67 per diluted share, for the same period last year.

During the quarter ended December 31, 2011, SkyWest experienced a reduction of approximately $79.2 million in pretax earnings (of which $32.8 million relates to items that positively impacted the results for the fourth quarter of 2010) compared to the same period last year.  Additionally $6.8 million of the difference between the comparable quarters is non-operational and is related to SkyWest’s foreign investments. The combination of these items is $39.6 million or approximately 50% of the difference for the comparable quarters.  Following are the significant items that contributed to the pretax reduction:

·                  Recorded $15.6 million gain in the fourth quarter of 2010, attributable to the acquisition of ExpressJet Holdings

·                  Recorded $17.2 million of additional revenue from contract settlement issues in the fourth quarter of 2010

·                  Incurred $15.6 million in additional maintenance costs during the fourth quarter of 2011, primarily related to labor, aircraft paint, parts and airframe heavy check costs

·                  Recorded $15.2 million increase in the pretax loss from ExpressJet operations (acquired in November 2010) for the fourth quarter of 2011

·                  Incurred $8.0 million in additional crew-related costs due to additional staffing needs during the fourth quarter of 2011

·                  Recorded additional $6.8 million loss attributable to SkyWest’s minority investments in Trip Linhas Aereas (“TRIP”) and Mekong Aviation Joint Stock Company (“Air Mekong”)

Commenting on the results, Jerry C. Atkin, Chairman and CEO said, “We experienced some unanticipated expenses in the fourth quarter, however, I remain confident in our ability to respond to these challenges.”  He continued, “We have an action plan in place for 2012 that we have started to execute and is expected to return us to profitability for the year.  Having said that,