Air travel company SkyWest announced on Monday that the merger with ExpressJet Holdings was finalized. As a result, ExpressJet Airlines, a regional air travel company with more than 130 itineraries in North America and the Caribbean, became part of Atlantic Southeast Airlines, a subsidiary of SkyWest.
Following regulatory approvals, SkyWest will combine the operations of Atlantic Southeast with ExpressJet, and the operating headquarters of the combined company would be in Atlanta, Georgia. Until all approvals have been obtained, the two carriers will operate under separate operating certificates, and while waiting for a common airline operating certificate, SkyWest will transfer some support functions from ExpressJet to SkyWest and Atlantic Southeast.
As the acquisition is now completed, the companies are moving to integrate operations in order to ensure an easy transition for the airlines’ clients.
SkyWest’s CFO Bradford R. Rich is confident that the merger will bring further growth opportunities for employees and the companies, as well as increased value to shareholders.
Following the merger with ExpressJet, SkyWest increases its number of wholly-owned subsidiaries to three. Taking into account all subsidiaries and their activity, SkyWest now operates approximately 700 aircrafts and some 4,000 departures per day.
