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SkyWest (SKYW) Posts Rise in June Block Hours & Load Factor

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SkyWest, Inc. (SKYW - Free Report) reported 8.6% year-over-year increase in block hours (a measure of aircraft utilization) to 127,415 for June 2019. The carrier stated that the rise in block hours resulted from the addition of E175, CRJ900 and CRJ700 aircraft to its fleet since last June.

This regional airline is focused on streamlining its operations. It aims to reduce the 50-seat jets in its fleet and add new E175 aircraft.

The company’s dual class aircraft (E175, CRJ900 and CRJ700) accounted for approximately 64.8% of the carrier’s total block-hour production for the month compared with approximately 59.7% a year ago.

Additionally, this St. George, UT-based company reported 7% ascent in block hours for the first six months of 2019. Load factor (percentage of seats filled with passengers) improved 170 basis points (bps) to 86% in June. Also, the number of departures and passenger count climbed 7.1% and 10%, respectively, in the month.

Notably, SkyWest completed the sale of ExpressJet Airlines to a third party on Jan 22 this year. Hence, the traffic report did not include ExpressJet for the year-ago period as well.

Zacks Rank & Key Picks

SkyWest carries a Zacks Rank #3 (Hold). Some better-ranked stocks in the same space are Air China (AIRYY - Free Report) , United Airlines Holdings (UAL - Free Report) and Azul (AZUL - Free Report) . While Air China and United Airlines sport a Zacks Rank #1 (Strong Buy), Azul carries a Zacks Rank #2 (Buy). You can see the complete list of today’s Zacks #1 Rank stocks here.

Shares of Air China, United Airlines and Azul have rallied more than 17%, 6% and 39%, respectively, so far this year.

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