SkyWest (NASDAQ:SKYW) increased its Q3 profit by almost 4x from a year ago by recapturing underserved markets, and increasing the utilization of its fleet, culminating in a Q3 profit of $2.16 per share, up from $0.55 in the same quarter last year, beating Wall Street’s estimates by $0.23.

Revenue improved by more than 19% to $913M, $16.8M higher than the street expected. SkyWest’s block hour production increased 15% in Q3 2024 compared to Q3 2023, which reflects improvements in captain availability since Q3 2023.

While operating expenses increased by 9%, including higher wages, aircraft maintenance, and airport-related expenses, the 19% jump in revenue contributed to net income of $89.7M.

SkyWest had $836 million in cash and marketable securities at the end of the quarter, similar to the $835 million balance at the end of 2023. Total debt was down $300M to $2.7B.

The carrier also announced an agreement with United Airlines (UAL) to place 40 CRJ550s under a multi-year contract with SkyWest.