SkyWest SKYW reported second-quarter 2021 earnings of $1.22 per share, beating the Zacks Consensus Estimate of 28 cents. Quarterly earnings also came against the year ago loss of 51 cents. Revenues in the June quarter summed $657 million, not only surpassing the Zacks Consensus Estimate of $581.5 million but also increasing 87.7% year over year. Results benefited from the uptick in air-travel demand with more people taking to the skies as vaccination ramps up.

Revenues from flying agreements (contributing 96.3% to the top line) surged 88.2% from the year-ago quarter’s figure. Total expenses (on a reported basis) increased 52.9% year over year to $542 million due to higher number of flights operated during second-quarter 2021. During the quarter, SkyWest received a total of $250 million from the U.S. Treasury under the payroll support program extension agreement (PSP3). In the same period, the carrier repaid $60-million secured loan under the CARES Act.

The airline, which carried 416.1% more passengers in the quarter compared with the year-ago level, reported a 157.1% increase in block hours (a measure of aircraft utilization). Passenger load factor (percentage of seats filled by passengers) increased 42 percentage points to 76.4% in the June quarter owing to the uptick in air-travel demand.

Liquidity

SkyWest, currently sporting a Zacks Rank #1 (Strong Buy), exited the second quarter with cash and marketable securities of $955.7 million, up from $825.91 million at the end of 2020. Long-term debt (net of current maturities) was $2.65 billion compared with $2.80 billion at December 2020-end. You can see the complete list of today’s Zacks #1 Rank stocks here.

How Other Airlines Fared

Let’s take a look at some of the other recently-released earnings reports of companies from within the Zacks  Airline  industry.

United Airlines  UAL incurred a loss (excluding $2.57 from non-recurring items) of $3.91 per share in the second quarter of 2021, narrower than the Zacks Consensus Estimate of a loss of $4.17. Operating revenues of $5,471 million surpassed the Zacks Consensus Estimate of $5,306.9 million.

American Airlines  AAL incurred a loss (excluding $1.72 from non-recurring items) of $1.69 per share, comparing favorably with the Zacks Consensus Estimate of a loss of $1.71. Quarterly loss per share was also narrower than the year-ago loss of $7.82. Operating revenues of $7,478 million skyrocketed 361.04% year over year and also surpassed the Zacks Consensus Estimate of $7,425.6 million.

Alaska Air Group  ALK incurred a loss (excluding $3.45 from non-recurring items) of 30 cents per share, narrower than the Zacks Consensus Estimate of a loss of 31 cents. In the year-ago quarter, the company incurred a loss of $3.54 per share. Operating revenues of $1,527 million skyrocketed 262.71% year over year.

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