SkyWest had something cooking in Mexico, too. Not sure where that's at. Alma de Mexico was a CRJ-200 airline that failed, and presumably SkW could fill that with Midwest birds.

Upon further research, it appears that the Ghana operation may not have been SkW, but instead the patriarch and original pilot of SkW, and Jerry Atkins' uncle, Ralph Atkins. The following is edited and quoted from other sources:

"The people behind GIA (the American "strategic partner" to Ghana International) seem to be:

Ralph Atkin tries to bask in Skywest's glory, but he was long gone from operation responsibility, when Skywest started operating United's feeder operation in California. Skywest has become the airline it is now, AFTER Atkin left.

Albert Vitale, of Florida passes himself off as an ex-Pan Am pilot, but the FAA only knows of issuing him a pilot's license in 1993, but only for single-engine aircraft on flights over land. Since Pan Am went out of business in 1991, its hard to reconcile the dates.... Vitale is currently in some role with Chalk Airways in FL (which operates Grumman seaplanes between Miami and Bahamas)

Finally there is a Sean Mendis - Mendis' only experience in airline mgmt is that his parents are ex-Air India cabin crew. Mendis currently passes himself off as an Aviation consultant in Canada/India - after getting deported from the USA due to visa violations.

God help Ghana International Airlines from this "great mgmt team" with "lengthy and successful" track records in commercial aviation......

Why is it that a group of Mormons raised a bit of money, and put two guys - AC Vitale and Sean Mendis (who are not Mormons - I grant you) in charge of setting up operations for a major airline - when neither of them have ANY experience!!!

These same guys tried to outbid American Airlines to buy TWA in 2001.....Except they were called Jet Acquisitions Group:

Feb 2001; Jet Acquisitions Group of Phoenix, Arizona, bid $889 million plus assumption of liabilities for substantially all of the assets (with $684 million designated for the non-Worldspan assets and $205 million designated for Worldspan). The Jet Acquisitions Group bid was submitted by [bold]J. Ralph Atkin, president[/bold]. The notice address for Jet Acquisitions Group is: Jet Acquisitions Group, Inc., 6991 E. Camelback Rd., Suite B-305, Phoenix, AZ 85251.