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In addition to the aircraft operating under the respective arrangements outlined above, SkyWest Airlines has agreed with its major airline partners to place additional aircraft under a capacity purchase arrangement as summarized below. We are coordinating with our major airline partners to optimize the timing of upcoming fleet deliveries and the delivery timing referenced below is subject to change.

United Express Agreements

We and United are parties to two United Express agreements: a United Express agreement to operate certain CRJ200 aircraft and CRJ700 aircraft, and a United Express agreement to operate E175 aircraft (collectively, the “United Express Agreements”).

The United Express Agreements have a latest scheduled termination date in 2029. The United Express Agreements are subject to early termination in various circumstances including:

Delta Connection Agreements

We and Delta are parties to a Delta Connection Agreement (the "Delta Connection Agreement"), pursuant to which we provide contract flight services for Delta.

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Alaska Agreement

We and Alaska are parties to a Capacity Purchase Agreement (the “Alaska Agreement”) for the operation of E175 aircraft. Each aircraft placed under the agreementThe Alaska Agreement has a 12-year termlatest scheduled termination date of 2034 and the last aircraft placed into service with Alaska is scheduled to terminate in 2030. The Alaska Agreement is subject to early termination in various circumstances including:

Training and Aircraft Maintenance

SkyWest provides substantially all training to our crew members and maintenance personnel at our training facilities. Our employees perform routine airframe and engine maintenance along with periodic inspections of equipment at our maintenance facilities. We also use third-party vendors for certain airframe and engine maintenance work.

Fuel

Our capacity purchase agreements with United, Delta, American and Alaska require the respective major airline partner to pay for fuel costs, either directly to the fuel vendor or to reimburse us for the fuel costs we incur under those agreements, thereby reducing our exposure to fuel price fluctuations. Under our prorate agreements with United and Delta, we are responsible for the costs to operate the flights, including fuel costs, and therefore we are exposed to fuel price fluctuations for flights operated under our prorate agreements. During the year ended December 31, 2021,2022, our major airlinesairline partners purchased the majority of the fuel for our aircraft flying under their respective capacity purchase agreements directly from their fuel vendors or reimbursed us for the fuel costs we incurred under the capacity purchase agreements. Historically, we have not experienced sustained material problems with the availability of fuel and believe we will be able to obtain fuel in quantities sufficient to meet our existing and anticipated future requirements at

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Our relations with labor are governed by the Railway Labor Act (the “RLA”), the federal law governing labor relations between air carriers and their employees. Under the RLA, a collective bargaining agreement between an airline and a labor representative does not expire, but instead becomes amendable as of a stated date. If either party wishes to modify the terms of any such agreement, it must notify the other party in the manner prescribed by the RLA and/or described in the agreement. After receipt of such notice, the parties must meet for direct negotiations, and if no agreement is reached, either party may request the National Mediation Board to initiate a process including mediation, arbitration, and a potential “cooling off” period that must be followed before either party may engage in “self-help.” “Self-help” includes, among other things, a strike by the representative or the imposition of proposed changes to the collective bargaining agreement by the airline. The U.S. Congress and the President have the authority to prevent “self-help” by enacting legislation that, among other things, imposes a settlement on the parties. SkyWest Airlines respects all employees’ legal rights, including the rights to free association and collective bargaining. This includes the right to decide whether to be represented by a union. Our employees are covered by the RLA. Under the RLA, employees have the right to decide whether they wish to be represented by a union. They also have the right to reject union representation.

Culture

At SkyWest our people are our most valued assets, and the success of our business is dependent on having an engaged and effective workforce. We respect every individual's quality of life and are committed to promoting dignity and trust in all we do. We strive to be the partner of choice and employer of choice.

Health & Safety

Safety is the primary focus and foundation of our culture with our first guiding principle being Health and Safety First. We expect our employees to think, plan, communicate and act appropriately to prevent injury, illness or harm to themselves, fellow employees, passengers and aircraft. SkyWest’s Safety Management System (SMS) integrates an intentional safety culture into every work group and every employee process from new hire through retirement, focusing on industry-best practices in safety competencies and behaviors. Training is required for every SkyWest employee, regardless of position.

SkyWest’s SMS is designed to identify, track, and help mitigate potential safety risks before an incident or accident occurs. Employees are encouraged to participate in our voluntary programs to report potential safety concerns or violations to reduce safety risk, including, but not limited to our Aviation Safety Action Program and Safety Concern Report.

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School Partnerships and Development. We maintain relationships with numerous flight schools and educational institutions across the country that are focused on developing the next generation of aviation professionals. We typically recruit pilots and maintenance technicians that have completed required coursework from an accredited flight or maintenance school, respectively, and have obtained other applicable certifications. We also provide other programs to enhance our recruiting efforts towards individuals who are in process of completing their training, including a Pilot Pathway Program and an Aviation Maintenance Technician (AMT) Pathway Program.

Ongoing Training and Retention. SkyWest invests in retaining its professionals by providing a range of talent development opportunities, including mandatory compliance training, new hire training and general professional development, as well as engaging in the training of leaders through leadership development courses. Our training programs include full-motion flight simulators for pilots, on-the-job training for technicians, and cabin trainers for flight attendants. We also reinforce our guiding principles, including but not limited to, health and safety, excellent service and quality, and respect and teamwork through our training and development programs, as well as through our employee appreciation and recognition programs.

As the larger airlines recover from the COVID-19 pandemic and look to hire pilots,During 2022, we anticipate seeing aexperienced significant turnover of our pilots, specifically our captains. As we work to train and promote our first officers to captains, we will likely have higheranticipate incurring continued elevated training costs. Additionally, if our captain attrition levels exceed our upgrade replacement levels, we will likely need to reduce future flight schedules with our major airline partners, negatively impacting our revenue.costs in 2023.

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Employee Reporting

Our Code of Conduct contains general guidelines for conducting business in an ethical manner. We are committed to a working environment that is safe and supports open and honest communication. We have established a reporting system for any SkyWest employee to report a violation of companyCompany policy including harassment, discrimination, drug and alcohol use, questionable financial practice, or a breach involving safety or security. A general grievance may also be filed even if an employee has already utilized their chain of command or chooses to remain anonymous. Reports can be filed using a toll-free ethics and grievance hotline or by using on online reporting system on SkyWest’s intranet.

Government Regulation

All interstate air carriers, including SkyWest, are subject to regulation by the U.S. Department of Transportation (the “DOT”), the U.S. Federal Aviation Administration (the “FAA”) and other governmental agencies. Regulations promulgated by the DOT primarily relate to economic aspects of air service. The FAA requires operating, airworthiness and other certificates; approval of personnel who may engage in flight, maintenance or operating activities; record-keeping procedures in accordance with FAA requirements; and FAA approval of flight training and retraining programs. Generally, governmental agencies enforce their regulations through, among other methods, certifications, which are necessary for the continued operations of SkyWest, and proceedings, which can result in civil or criminal penalties or revocation of operating authority. The FAA can also issue maintenance directives and other mandatory orders relating to, among other things, grounding of aircraft, inspection of aircraft, installation of new safety-related items and the mandatory removal and replacement of aircraft parts.

We believe SkyWest complies, in all material respects, with FAA regulations and holds all operating and airworthiness certificates and licenses which are necessary to conduct our operations. We maintain current certifications and otherwise comply with the laws, rules and regulations to which we are subject. Our flight operations, maintenance programs, recordkeeping and training programs are conducted under FAA approved procedures. All air carriers operating in the United States are required to comply with federal laws and regulations pertaining to noise abatement and

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Our board of directors has oversight of our environment-related performance. Through software and training, we heavily monitor and manage our fuel trends and fuel consumption which leads to better fuel management and reductions in emissions. When possible, we conserve fuel burned by utilizing single engine taxi procedures, improving the efficiency of aircraft routing, using performance-based navigation procedures to reduce track miles, and using ground power when parked at the gate. Additionally, we collaborate with aircraft and engine manufacturers and our major airline partners regarding innovations and emerging technologies that could improve fuel efficiencies and minimize environmental impact. We are also collaborating with our major airline partners and fuel providers regarding long-term opportunities to use sustainable aviation fuel in the future. We are evaluating opportunities to increase the number of electric powered ground equipment, including tugs and pushbacks used at airports where we provide ramp services. We participate with our major airline partners in recycling programs, and we have implemented recycling initiatives in our facilities to reduce the amount of paper, plastic and other recyclables going to landfills. We have worked aggressively to reduce our reliance on paper manuals, further eliminating unnecessary waste while increasing efficiencies.

We have entered into a strategic partnership with Eve UAM, LLC (“Eve”Eve UAM”), an Embraer company, to develop a network of deployment for Eve’sEve UAM’s electric vertical takeoff and landing (“eVTOL”) aircraft. This partnership includes the option for SkyWest to purchase up to 100 eVTOL aircraft. Eve UAM anticipates its four-passenger eVTOL aircraft will be certified and available for service after 2025.

Safety and Security

We are committed to the safety and security of our passengers and employees. We have taken many steps, both voluntarily and as mandated by governmental authorities, to increase the safety and security of our operations. Some of the safety and security measures we have taken with our major airline partners include: aircraft security and surveillance, aircraft cleaning procedures, positive bag matching procedures, enhanced passenger and baggage screening and search procedures and securing of cockpit doors. We are committed to complying with future safety and security requirements.

Insurance

We maintain insurance policies we believe are of types customary in the industry and in amounts we believe are adequate to protect against material loss. These policies principally provide coverage for public liability, passenger

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During 2020 and 2021, SkyWest Airlines entered into three payroll support program agreements (the “Payroll Support Program Agreements”) with the U.S. Department of the Treasury (“Treasury”) that provided certain payroll support relief payments. During 2020, we received $345.5 million in the form of a payroll grant that was reflected as a reduction to operating expenses and we received $105.2 million in the form of a ten-year unsecured loan, which remained outstanding as of December 31, 2021. During 2021, we received $422.7 million in the form of a payroll grant that was reflected as a reduction to operating expenses and we received $95.4 million in the form of a ten-year unsecured loan, which remained outstanding as of December 31, 2021. The payroll support programs include certain restrictions, including requirements to maintain certain levels of scheduled service, restrictions on the payment of dividends and the repurchase of our common stock through September 30, 2022, and certain limitations on executive compensation. There is no assurance that we will receive additional payroll support from Treasury.

Additionally, during 2020 SkyWest Airlines entered into a secured loan and guarantee agreement with Treasury (the “Treasury Loan Agreement”), which permitted us to borrow up to $725 million under a five-year term. Upon execution, we borrowed $60 million under the Treasury Loan Agreement. The Treasury Loan Agreement includes certain restrictions, including on the payment of dividends, repurchase of our common stock and executive compensation for a twelve-month period following repayment of the loan in full. During 2021, we repaid amounts outstanding under the Treasury Loan and terminated the Treasury Loan Agreement. There is no assurance Treasury will provide similar financing arrangements in the future.

We may also take additional actions to improve our financial position, including measures to improve liquidity, such as drawing down on SkyWest Airlines’ line of credit, the issuance of secured debt securities, and/or the entry into other debt facilities. There can be no assurance as to the timing of any such drawdown or issuance, which may be in the near term, or that any such additional financing will be completed on favorable terms, or at all. Any such actions could be conducted in the near term, may be material in nature and could result in significant additional borrowing. Measures to improve liquidity or other strategic actions that we may take in the future in response to COVID-19 may not be effective in offsetting decreased demand, and we will not be permitted to take certain strategic actions as a result of the Payroll Support Program Agreements, which could result in a material adverse effect on our business, operating results and financial condition.

The full extent of the ongoing impact of COVID-19 on our longer-term operational and financial performance will depend on future developments, many of which are outside of our control, including the effectiveness of the mitigation strategies discussed above, the duration and spread of COVID-19 and its variants and related travel advisories and restrictions, the impact of COVID-19 on overall long-term demand for air travel, the impact of COVID-19 on our financial health and operations and that of our major airline partners, recovery plans initiated by major airlines and others in the airline industry, the impact of potential vaccine mandates on employee attrition and future governmental actions, all of which are highly uncertain and cannot be predicted. The COVID-19 pandemic has had a material impact, and the continuation of reduced demand could have a material adverse effect, on our business, operating results, financial condition and liquidity.

In addition, a further outbreak of COVID-19 and its variants, an outbreak of another disease or similar public health threat, or fear of such an event, that affects travel demand, travel behavior or travel restrictions could have a material adverse impact on our business, financial condition and operating results and those of our major airline partners. Outbreaks of other diseases could also result in increased government restrictions and regulation, such as those actions described above or otherwise, which could adversely affect our operations.Risks That May Disrupt Our Operations

We have experienced, and may continue to experience, difficulty upgradingin recruiting, retaining, and retaining qualified pilots.

Our operations rely on retaining qualified pilots, including captains and first officers. Our pilots may seek employment at major airlines, which generally offer higher salaries and more extensive benefit programs than regional airlines. In response to the COVID-19 pandemic, several major airlines offered their employees early retirement programs in 2020 and have publicly announced their intention to hire significant levels of pilots in the near term. As a result, we are experiencing elevated levels of pilot attrition, particularly attrition of our captains. As we work to upgrade our first officers to captain, if attrition levels exceed our upgrade and replacement levels, we likely will experience a shortage of captains, due to training time and other factors, resulting in a reduction of our flight schedules with our major airline partners. If we request our major airline partners to reduce our flight schedules due to pilot or other labor shortages, our major airline partners may seek to enforce financial penalties or reduce the compensation otherwise

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The effect of any, or some combination, of the foregoing economic and industry conditions on our operations or financial condition is virtually impossible to forecast; however, the occurrence of any or all of such conditions in a significant manner could materially and adversely affect our operations and financial condition and could cause our major airline partners to reduce the utilization levels of our aircraft under our code-share agreements.

Information technology security breaches, hardware or software failures, or other information technology disruptions may negatively impact our operations or reputation.

The performance and reliability of our technology are critical to our ability to compete effectively. Any internal technological error or failure or large-scale external interruption in the technological infrastructure we depend on, such as U.S. air traffic control systems, power, telecommunications or the internet, may disrupt our internal network. Any individual failure or repeated failure of technology could impact our ability to conduct our business and result in

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in the cancellation or delay of a significant portion of our flights and, as a result, could have a severe adverse impact on our operations and financial performance.

The occurrence of an aviation accident involving our aircraft would negatively impact our operations and financial condition.

An accident or incident involving one of our aircraft could result in significant potential claims of injured passengers and others, as well as repair or replacement of a damaged aircraft and its consequential temporary or permanent loss from service. In the event of an accident, our liability insurance may not be adequate to offset our exposure to potential claims and we may be forced to bear substantial losses from the accident. Substantial claims resulting from an accident in excess of our related insurance coverage would harm our operational and financial results. Moreover, any aircraft accident or incident, even if fully insured, could cause a public perception that our operations are less safe or reliable than other airlines and could affect our relationships with our major airline partners.

We may experience disruption in service with key third-party service providers.

We rely on third party vendors for a variety of services and functions critical to our business, including airframe and engine maintenance, ground handling, fueling, computer reservation system hosting, telecommunication systems and information technology infrastructure and services.

Even though we strive to formalize agreements with these vendors that define expected service levels, our use of outside vendors increases our exposure to several risks. In the event that one or more vendors experiences labor shortages, aircraft part shortages, goes into bankruptcy, ceases operation or fails to perform as promised, replacement services may not be readily available at competitive rates, or at all. If one of our vendors fails to perform adequately, we may experience increased costs, delays, maintenance issues, safety issues or negative public perception of our airline.

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security. Additional terrorist attacks and the fear of such attacks could negatively impact the airline industry, and result in further decreased passenger traffic and yields, increased flight delays or cancellations associated with new government mandates, as well as increased security, fuel and other costs. We cannot provide any assurance that these events will not harm the airline industry generally or our operations or financial condition in particular.

Risks Related to Our Code-Share Agreements with Our Major Airline Partners

Our business model is dependent on code-share agreements with four major airline partners.

Our business model depends on major airlines electing to contract with us instead of operating their own regional jets. Some regional airlines are owned by a major airline. We have no guarantee that in the future our major airline partners will choose to enter into contracts with us instead of operating their own regional jets or acquiring a regional airline. Our major airline partners are not prohibited from doing so under our code-share agreements. A decision by any of our major airline partners to phase out code-share relationships and instead acquire and operate their own regional jets or regional airline could have a material adverse effect on our financial results. Additionally, our major airline partners may be limited in the number of regional aircraft they can operate in their network due to aircraft scope limitations they have with their labor groups. Scope limitations could limit our ability to increase the number of aircraft operating under our code-share agreements.

As of December 31, 2021, 3692022, 375 out of our total 509517 aircraft in scheduled service were operating under a capacity purchase arrangement or a prorate agreement with either United or Delta. If our code-share relationship with United or Delta were terminated, we would be significantly impacted and likely would not have an immediate source of revenue or earnings to offset such loss. A termination of either of these relationships would likely have a material adverse effect on our financial condition, operating revenues and net income unless we are able to enter into satisfactory substitute arrangements for the utilization of the affected aircraft by other code-share partners, or, alternatively, obtain the airport

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primarily due to the capacity purchase agreement amendments we executed during the 2022 year. We currently anticipate we will continue to defer recognition of revenue for certain fixed monthly cash payments throughout 2023.

Our major airline partners may experience events that negatively impact their financial strength or operations, which may also negatively impact our operations.

Our business model relies significantly on our major airline partners, and we may be negatively affected by their financial and operating strength. Events impacting airline travel, including pandemics such as COVID-19, that negatively impact the financial strength of our major airline partners or have a long-term effect on the use of our major airline partners by airline travelers would likely have a material adverse effect on our business, financial condition, and results of operations. If our major airline partners experience adverse effects to their operational or financial condition, they may be unable to make payments due to us under their capacity purchase agreements or may need to reduce utilization of our aircraft. Additionally, if one of our major airline partners undergoes bankruptcy, our agreement with such partner may not be assumed in bankruptcy and could be terminated. This and other events, which are outside of our control, could have a material adverse effect on our business, financial condition, and results of operations.

Our growth may be limited with our major airline partners' flight systems.

Additional growth opportunities within our major airline partners’ flight systems are limited by various factors, including a limited number of regional aircraft each major airline partner can operate in its regional network due to its own labor agreements or scope limitations. Except as contemplated by our existing code-share agreements, we cannot be sure that our major airline partners will contract with us to fly any additional aircraft. We may not receive additional growth opportunities, or we may agree to modifications to our code-share agreements that reduce certain benefits to us in order to obtain additional aircraft, or for other reasons. Given the competitive nature of the airline industry, we believe limited growth opportunities may result in competitors accepting reduced margins and less favorable contract terms in order to secure new or additional code-share operations. Even if we are offered growth opportunities by our major airline partners, those opportunities may involve economic terms or financing commitments that are unacceptable to us. Additionally, our major airline partners may reduce the number of regional jets in their system by not renewing or extending existing flying arrangements with regional operators. Any one or more of these factors may reduce or eliminate our ability to expand our flight operations with our existing major airline partners.

There are long-term risks related to supply and demand of regional aircraft associated with our regional airline services strategy.

Various factors could change our major airline partners’ long-term strategy in using regional aircraft to support their network objectives. Such changes could result in a reduction in the number of regional aircraft our major airline partners operate in the future. If our major airline partners’ future strategies include a material reduction in regional aircraft generally or for specific aircraft types, such as 50-seat regional aircraft, the resulting decrease in demand in the aircraft we operate could have a material negative impact on our business and financial condition. Additionally, future developments of electric-powered aircraft designed to operate on routes typically served by regional aircraft could impact our major airline partners’ strategy and result in a reduction of demand or increase our capital expenditures and could have a material negative impact on our business and financial condition.

Due, in part, to the dynamic nature of the airline industry, major airlines may also make other strategic changes, such as changing or consolidating hub locations. If our major airline partners were to make changes such as these in their strategy and operations, our operations and financial results could be adversely impacted.

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Our prorate flying agreements with our major airline partners permit each major airline partner to terminate the agreement in its discretion by giving us notice of 120 days or less. If one of our major airline partners elects to terminate a flying agreement with notice of 120 days or less, our ability to use the aircraft under an alternative agreement with similar economics may be limited, which could negatively impact our financial results. Additionally, even if we could subsequently place the aircraft into service with a different major airline partner, of which there can be no assurance, we likely would incur inefficiencies and incremental costs, such as changing the aircraft livery, during the transition period, which would negatively impact our financial results.

We recently formed SkyWest Charter, a subsidiary offering public charter service, that involves significant risk.

In 2022 we formed a new subsidiary, SkyWest Charter, with the intent to offer public charter service to underserved communities in the United States using CRJ200 aircraft in a 30 or less seat configuration under its own FAA operating certificate. When SkyWest Charter begins operations, which is currently expected to occur in 2023, there will be significant risks, including that SkyWest Charter may divert management’s attention or the Company’s resources from our core business and strategies and that the objectives of SkyWest Charter may not materialize or may take longer to materialize than anticipated.

Disagreements regarding the interpretation of our code-share agreements with our major airline partners could have an adverse effect on our operating results and financial condition.

Long-term contractual agreements, such as our code-share agreements, are subject to interpretation and disputes may arise under such agreements if the parties to an agreement apply different interpretations to that agreement. Those disputes may divert managementmanagement’s time and resources from the core operation of the business, and may result in litigation, arbitration or other forms of dispute resolution.

In recent years weWe have previously experienced disagreements with our major airline partners regarding the interpretation of various provisions of our code-share agreements. Some of those disagreements have resulted in litigation, and we may be subject to additional disputes and litigation in the future. To the extent that we experience disagreements regarding the interpretation of our code-share or other agreements, we will likely expend valuable management time and financial resources in our efforts to resolve those disagreements. Those disagreements may result in litigation, arbitration, settlement negotiations or other proceedings. Furthermore, there can be no assurance that any or all of those proceedings, if commenced, would be resolved in our favor. An unfavorable result in any such proceeding could have adverse financial consequences or require us to modify our operations. Such disagreements and their consequences could have an adverse effect on our operating results and financial condition.

The airline industry is highly competitive, which could adversely affect our operating results and has undergone a period of consolidation and transition leaving fewer potential code-share partners.financial condition.

The airline industry is highly competitive. We compete with other regional airlines on various factors including, but not limited to, labor resources, including pilots and mechanics; low operating costs; financial resources, including the ability to finance aircraft at competitive terms; geographical infrastructure; and overall customer service levels relating to on-time arrival and flight completion percentages. Our major airline partners rely on us to fly passengers from various locations into their hubs under our code-share agreements at competitive terms. We not only compete with other regional airlines, some of which are owned by or operated as code-share partners of major airlines, but we also indirectly face competition from low-cost carriers, such as Southwest, Allegiant, Spirit, JetBlue and others, who compete with our major airline partners on many routes we operate. Certain of our competitors, are larger andincluding wholly-owned regional airline subsidiaries of our major airline partners, may have access to significantly greater financial and other resources than we do. Moreover, federal deregulation of the industry allows competitors to rapidly enter our markets and to quickly discount and restructure fares. The inability to remain competitive on the various factors valued by our major airline partners could adversely affect our operating results and financial condition.

The airline industry has undergone substantial consolidation in recent years, including the mergers between Alaska and Virgin America Inc. in 2016, American and US Airways Group Inc. in 2013, United and Continental Airlines, Inc. in 2010 and Delta and Northwest Airlines, Inc. in 2008. Any additional consolidation or significant alliance activity within the airline industry could limit the number of potential partners with whom we could enter into code-share relationships and could have a material adverse effect on our relationships with our major airline partners.

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result in a material reduction in our earnings. For example, during the year ended December 31, 20202022 and 2021, our salary, wage and benefit costs constituted approximately 40.9%42.9% and 40.5% of our total operating costs, respectively. In September 2022, we entered into a collective bargaining agreement with our pilots, increasing the pay rates for pilots. Our inability to offset increased labor costs through rate increases under our capacity purchase agreements with all our major airline partners could negatively impact our operating costs. Currently, we believe our labor costs are competitive relative to other regional airlines. However, we cannot provide assurance that our labor costs going forward will remain competitive because of changes in supply and demand for labor in the regional industry. We compete against other airlines and businesses for labor in many highly skilled positions. If we are unable to hire, train and retain qualified employees at a reasonable cost, sustain employee engagement in our strategic vision, or if we are unsuccessful at implementing succession plans for our key staff, we may be unable to grow or sustain our business. Labor costs to recruit, incentivize and retain skilled employees may significantly increase in the future due to increased competition for the limited number of qualified industry personnel. Attrition rates that exceed our ability to hire and replace applicable workgroups could negatively impact our ability to generate revenue, negatively impact our operating results, increase our training and labor costs and our business prospects could be harmed.

Additionally, under our capacity purchase contracts with United, Delta, American and Alaska, a portion of our compensation is based upon pre-determinedpre-determined rates typically applied to production statistics (such as departures, block hours, flight hours and number of aircraft in service each month). The primary operating costs intended to be compensated by the pre-determined rates include labor costs, including crew training costs, certain aircraft maintenance expenses, and overhead costs. During the year ended December 31, 2021,2022, approximately 91.4%91.8% of our code-share operating costs were reimbursable at pre-determined rates and 8.6%8.2% of our code-share operating costs were directly reimbursed costs, or often referred to as pass-through costs. Additionally, our aircraft maintenance costs may increase annually as our fleet ages at a higher rate than our pre-determined rates allow. Also, on an individual aircraft basis, various in-depth maintenance procedures are typically scheduled to occur at multi-year intervals, which can result in maintenance expense fluctuations year-to-year. If our operating costs for labor, aircraft maintenance and overhead costs exceed the compensation earned from our pre-determined rates under our capacity purchase arrangements, our financial position and operating results will be negatively affected.

Increased labor costs, pilot and other labor availability, labor disputes and unionization of our workforces may adversely affect our ability to conduct our business and reduce our profitability.

Our business is labor intensive, requiring large numbers of pilots, flight attendants, maintenance technicians and other personnel. Any new collective bargaining agreements entered into by other regional carriers with their work forces may also result in higher industry wages and increased pressure on us to increase the wages and benefits of our employees. Future agreements with represented employees may be on terms that are not as attractive as our current agreements or comparable to agreements entered into by our competitors. Notably, in September 2022, we entered into a collective bargaining agreement with our pilots, increasing the pay rates for pilots. The amended collective bargaining agreement is anticipated to result in an increase to our pilot costs. For illustrative purposes, under SkyWest Airlines’ amended collective bargaining agreement, the first-year pay rate for first officers increased from approximately $46/flight hour to $90/flight hour and the first-year CRJ and E175 captain pay rate increased from approximately $76/flight hour and $81/flight hour, respectively, to $140/flight hour for both CRJ and E175 captains. During the year ended December 31, 2022, we amended our capacity purchase agreements with certain major airline partners that resulted in higher compensation for our increased pilot pay rates.

SkyWest’s employees are represented by in-house associations; however, organizing efforts to join national unions among those employees occur from time to time. Such efforts will likely continue in the future and may ultimately result in some or all of our employees being represented by one or more national unions. If our employees were to unionize or be deemed to be represented by one or more national unions, negotiations with these unions could divert managementmanagement’s attention and disrupt operations, which may result in increased operating expenses and may negatively impact our financial results. Moreover, we cannot predict the outcome of any future negotiations relating to union representation or collective bargaining agreements. Agreements reached in union-involved collective bargaining may increase our operating expenses and negatively impact our financial results.

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We may experience an increase in fuel prices in our prorate operations.

Dependence on foreign imports of crude oil, limited refining capacity and the possibility of changes in government policy on jet fuel production, transportation and marketing make it difficult to predict the future availability of jet fuel. If there are additional outbreaks of hostilities or other conflicts in oil-producing areas or elsewhere, or a reduction in refining capacity (due to weather events, for example), or governmental limits on the production or sale of jet fuel, there could be a reduction in the supply of jet fuel and significant increases in the cost of jet fuel. Additionally,

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capacity purchase agreement or we are unable to extend the flying contract terms on aircraft with ongoing financial obligations, our financial position and financial results could be materially adversely affected.

In addition, given the negative effects the COVID-19 pandemic has had and may continue to have on our business, including demand fluctuations, labor shortages or other effects, we may seek material amounts of additional financial liquidity in the short-term, which may include drawing down on SkyWest Airlines’ line of credit, the issuance of secured debt securities and/or the entry into other debt facilities, among other items. There can be no assurance as to the timing of any such drawdown or issuance, which may be in the near term, or that any such additional financing will be completed on favorable terms, or at all.

If our liquidity is materially diminished, we might not be able to timely pay our leases and debts or comply with certain covenants under SkyWest Airlines’ line of credit or with other material provisions of our contractual obligations.

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We lease aircraft and engines to third parties and the lessee may default under the lease terms, which could negatively affect our financial condition, cash flow and results of operations.

We leased five CRJ900 aircraft, 3435 CRJ700 aircraft, and engines used on CRJ aircraft to third parties as of December 31, 2021.2022. In the event a lessee defaults under the terms of the lease agreement, we may incur additional costs, including legal and other expenses necessary to repossess the aircraft or engines, particularly if the lessee is contesting the proceedings or is in bankruptcy. We could also incur substantial maintenance, refurbishment or repair costs if a defaulting lessee fails to pay such costs and where such maintenance, refurbishment or repairs are necessary to put the aircraft or engines in suitable condition for remarketing or sale. We may also incur storage costs associated with any aircraft or engine that we repossess and are unable to place immediately with another lessee. Even if we are able to immediately place a repossessed aircraft or engine into service ourselves, or place the aircraft and engines under another lessee, we may not be able to do so at a similar or favorable lease rate. A lessee default under one of our lease agreements could negatively affect our financial condition, cash flow and results of operations.

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reductions in the trading market price of Eve’s common stock will likely negatively impact our financial condition and net income.

We are subject to various environmental requirements, including laws and regulations related to climate change and emissions. Compliance with new or existing environmental requirements could materially and adversely affect the Company's business plans, strategies, and results of operations.

We are subject to federal, state, and local laws and regulations relating to the protection of the environment, including those relating to aircraft and ground-based emissions, discharges into water systems, safe drinking water, and the management of hazardous substances and waste materials. Certain legislative bodies and regulatory authorities are increasingly focused on climate change and have taken actions to implement additional laws, regulations, and programs intended to protect the environment. For example, the federal government, as well as several state and local governments, have implemented legislative and regulatory proposals and voluntary measures intended to reduce greenhouse gas emissions. Compliance with laws, regulations, and other programs intended to reduce emissions or otherwise protect the environment may require us to reduce our emissions, secure carbon offset credits or otherwise pay for emissions, or make capital investments to modify certain aspects of our operations to reduce emissions. Future policy, legal, and regulatory developments relating to the protection of the environment could increase our costs and have a material adverse effect on our operations.

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future dividends may reduce our cash reserves, which may impact our ability to finance future growth and to pursue possible future strategic opportunities and acquisitions.

Our common stock price may fluctuate significantly.

Volatility in our common stock price may prevent holders from selling shares at or above the prices paid for them. During the year ended December 31, 2022, our common stock closing price varied between a high of $41.83 and a low of $14.87. The market price of our common stock may fluctuate significantly for a variety of reasons, including: general market, political and other economic conditions; new regulatory pronouncements or changes in regulatory guidelines; announcements concerning the airline industry, our major airline partners or competitors; the market’s reaction to our quarterly or annual earnings or those of other companies in the airline industry; failure to meet financial analysts’ performance expectations or changes in recommendations by financial analysts for our common stock or the stock of other airlines; significant sales of our common stock, and other risks described in these “Risk Factors.” In recent periods, the stock market has experienced extreme declines and volatility, significantly impacting the market price of securities issued by many companies, including us and other companies in our industry.

We issued warrants to purchase shares of our common stock to Treasury for relief we received under the CARES Act, the 2021 Appropriations Act, and the American Rescue Plan Act.

In 2020, we issued warrants to purchase 370,720 shares of our common stock with an exercise price of $28.38 per share to Treasury as consideration for payroll support payments we received under the CARES Act payroll support program. Also, during 2020 we issued warrants to purchase 211,416 shares of our common stock with an exercise price of $28.38 per share to Treasury as consideration for borrowing $60.0 million under the Treasury Loan Agreement. In 2021, we issued warrants to purchase 124,773 shares of our common stock with an exercise price of $40.41 per share to Treasury as consideration for payroll support payments we received under the 2021 Appropriations Act. Additionally, in 2021 we issued warrants to purchase 78,317 shares of our common stock with an exercise price of $57.47 per share to Treasury as consideration for payroll support payments we received under the American Rescue Plan Act.

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The adoption of new tax legislation or changes to existing tax laws and regulations could adversely affect our financial condition or results of operations.

We are subject to tax laws and regulations of the U.S. federal, state and local governments as well as various non-U.S. jurisdictions. Potential changes in existing tax laws, including future regulatory guidance, may impact our effective tax rate and tax payments. There can be no assurance that changes in tax laws or regulations, both within the United States and the other jurisdictions in which we operate, will not materially and adversely affect our effective tax rate, tax payments, financial condition and results of operations. Similarly, changes in tax laws and regulations that impact our major airline partners, customers or the economy generally may also impact our financial condition and results of operations.

In addition, tax laws and regulations are complex and subject to varying interpretations, and any significant failure to comply with applicable tax laws and regulations in all relevant jurisdictions could give rise to substantial penalties and liabilities. Any changes in enacted tax laws, rules or regulatory or judicial interpretations; any adverse outcome in connection with tax audits in any jurisdiction; or any change in the pronouncements relating to accounting for income taxes could materially and adversely impact our effective tax rate, tax payments, financial condition and results of operations.

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and San Luis Obispo, California.Indiana. We also lease ticket counters, passenger hold rooms, operating areas and other terminal space in many of the airports that we serve.

​

We own our corporate headquarters facilities located in St. George, Utah and a maintenance accessory shop facility in Salt Lake City, Utah. We also own maintenance facilities on land leases with airport authorities in Milwaukee, Wisconsin; Oklahoma City, Oklahoma; and Colorado Springs, Colorado; and Palm Springs, California.

​Colorado.

ITEM 3. LEGAL PROCEEDINGS

We are subject to certain legal actions which we consider routine to our business activities. As of December 31, 2021,2022, our management believed, after consultation with legal counsel, that the ultimate outcome of such legal matters was not likely to have a material adverse effect on our financial position, liquidity or results of operations. However, the ultimate resolution of these matters is inherently uncertain.

ITEM 4. MINE SAFETY DISCLOSURES

The disclosure required by this item is not applicable.

PART II

ITEM 5. MARKET FOR REGISTRANT’S COMMON EQUITY, RELATED STOCKHOLDER MATTERS AND ISSUER PURCHASES OF EQUITY SECURITIES

Market Information

Our common stock is traded on The Nasdaq Global Select Market under the symbol “SKYW.” As of February 14, 2022,10, 2023, there were approximately 3,9513,917 stockholders of record of our common stock. Securities held of record do not include shares held in securities position listings. The transfer agent for our common stock is Zions First National Bank, Salt Lake City, Utah.

Dividends

The Company did not declare dividends for the years ended December 31, 2021 and 2022. Pursuant to the terms of our agreements with Treasury, we arethe Company was restricted from paying dividends through September 30, 2022. As such, no dividends were declared during the 2021 calendar year, and thereThere can be no assurance that we will pay dividends in the future. In February 2020, our Board of Directors declared a regular dividend of $0.14 per share. No subsequent dividends were declared during the 2020 calendar year.

Issuer Purchases of Equity Securities

Our Board of Directors has adopted a stock repurchase program which authorizes the Company to repurchase shares of our common stock in the public market or in private transactions, from time to time, at prevailing prices. Our stock repurchase program was authorized in 2019 for the repurchase of up to $250.0 million of our common stock. Pursuant to the termsAs of our Payroll Support Program Agreements and Treasury Loan Agreement with Treasury,December 31, 2022, we are restricted from repurchasinghad repurchased 1,966,353 shares of our common stock through September 30, 2022.for $110.4 million under this authorization. No shares of common stock were repurchased under our repurchase program during the twelve months ended December 31, 2021.2022. We may resume stock repurchases under our 2019 program now that the restrictions under our agreements with Treasury have lapsed.

Stock Performance Graph

The following Performance Graph and related information shall not be deemed “soliciting material” or “filed” with the SEC, nor shall such information be incorporated by reference into any future filing under the Securities Act of 1933, as amended, or the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, as amended (the “Exchange Act”), except to the extent we specifically incorporate it by reference into such filing.

The following graph compares the cumulative total shareholder return on our common stock over the five-year period ended December 31, 2021,2022, with the cumulative total return during such period of the Nasdaq Stock Market (U.S. Companies) and the Nasdaq Stock Market Transportation Index. The following graph assumes an initial investment of $100.00 with dividends reinvested. The stock performance shown on the graph below represents historical stock performance and is not necessarily indicative of future stock price performance.

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Revenue

The number of aircraft we have in scheduled service and the number of block hours we generateincur on our flights are primary drivers to our flying agreements revenue under our capacity purchase arrangements.agreements. The number of flights we operate and the corresponding number of passengers we carry are the primary drivers to our revenue under our prorate flying agreements. As a result of higher passenger demand compared to the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic, theThe number of aircraft we operatedhave in scheduled service or under contract under code-share agreements increased from 452 as of December 31, 2020, to 509 as of December 31, 2021;2021, to 517 as of December 31, 2022; the number of block hours increaseddecreased from 1.01.32 million in 20202010 to 1.31.25 million in 2021,2022, or by 35.6%; and the number of passengers we carried4.9%.

Our capacity purchase revenue increased $345.1 million, or 15.6%, from 21.3 million in 20202021 to 36.6 million in 2021, or by 72.2%.

As2022. The change was primarily as a result of increased flight schedules and additional aircraft operating under our capacity purchase agreements in 20212022 compared to 2020,2021 and the temporary rate reductions we provided our major airline partners under our capacity purchase revenue increased $413.5 million, or 23.1% in 2021. Additionally, we recognized $6.8 million of previously deferred revenue and $8.4 million of unbilled revenue foragreements during the year ended December 31, 2021 compared to deferring revenue of $110.7 million of fixed monthly payments received under our capacity purchase agreements for the year ended December 31, 2020,COVID-19 relief, as further described in the section of this report entitled “Results of Operations.” As a result of increaseddecreased flight schedules and passengers carried on our prorate routes, our prorate revenue increased $140.8decreased $60.3 million, or 52.4%14.7% in 2021,2022, as compared to 2020. Despite the ongoing COVID-19 demand recovery, the negative impact to our revenues due to the COVID-19 pandemic and its associated effects on the travel industry, including potential labor shortages that may negatively impact our future flight schedules, may continue in 2022.2021.

Operating Expenses

Our total operating expenses increased $419.3$386.1 million, or 20.8%15.8% for the year ended December 31, 2021,2022, compared to the year ended December 31, 2020.2021. This increase was primarily due to an increase in the number of flights we operated and a non-cash impairment charge of $84.6 million for the year ended December 31, 2021. Departures increased from 585,257 in 2020 to 749,943 in 2021, or by 28.1%. Additionally, we recorded $422.7 million in payroll support grants received from Treasury asthat was recorded an offset to our operating expenses for the year ended December 31, 2021, compared to $345.5 million recorded2021. We did not have a comparable payroll support grant for the year ended December 31, 2020.2022. Additional details regarding the increase in our operating expenses are described in the section of this Report entitled “Results of Operations.”

Fleet Activity

The following table summarizes our fleet activity for 2021:2022:

During 2021,2022, we took delivery of 1825 new E175 aircraft and one new CRJ900 aircraft and placed the aircraft into service or under contract under capacity purchase agreements. We placed 24 (net) usedremoved 10 CRJ700 aircraft, four usedthree CRJ900 aircraft into service under capacity purchase agreements, and ten usedfour CRJ200 aircraft into proratefrom service during 2022. We are evaluating alternative uses for the aircraft removed from service.

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Operating Revenues

The following table summarizes our operating revenue for the periods indicated (dollar amounts in thousands):

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. 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):