Originally Posted by
JetJock16
Explain that to Mesa. SKW didn't have code shares until the LATE 80's, that's 14+ years of profitable "At Risk" flying. After SKW picked up their first code share most of their flying was still "At Risk" until the 90's. Today all of our flying isn't fee-for-departure, we still do a good amount of "At Risk" flying for a regional with code shares.
I don't think anyone had code shares until the mid-late 80's. AWAC actually pioneered the concept of code sharing, after operating as a standalone carrier from 1965 - 1982(?). Of course, as with anything, once UAL touched it in the mid-90's it's been downhill from there.
This fee-for-departure stuff is also relatively new. I wouldn't be surprised if it slowly went away either, it's just too much of a drain on the mainline carrier.
One thing SkyWest does that I like is their "SkyShip" freight service. I had no idea that they even offered that. That's a smart way to increase revenue for sure.
The great thing about public companies is you can use capital raised from shareholders to stick your neck out a little and put money into growing the business. Private companies generally are much more conservative, because it's the owners money at stake. Knowing this, I think I would've preferred to come to a publicly held airline vs. privately held, especially in today's environment.