SKYWEST INC Commitments Disclosure
(5) Commitments and Contingencies
Self-Insurance
The Company self-insures a portion of its potential losses from claims related to workers’ compensation, environmental issues, property damage, medical insurance for employees and general liability. Losses are accrued based on an estimate of the ultimate aggregate liability for claims incurred, using standard industry practices and the Company’s actual experience. The Company uses judgment and estimates in determining the ultimate aggregate liabilities for claims incurred in its workers’ compensation liability. The Company also used assumptions in determining the workers compensation liability such as an estimation of loss payment and loss reporting development patterns. At December 31, 2025 and 2024, the Company’s accrued workers’ compensation liability totaled $19.1 million and $18.5 million, respectively, of which $9.8 million and $9.0 million, respectively, was short-term and included in other current liabilities. Actual results could differ from these estimates.
Legal Matters
The Company is subject to certain legal actions which it considers routine to its business activities. As of December 31, 2025, management believed, after consultation with legal counsel, that the ultimate outcome of such legal matters was not likely to have a material adverse effect on the Company’s financial position, liquidity or results of operations.
Concentration Risk and Significant Customers
The Company requires no collateral from its major airline partners or customers, but monitors the financial condition of its major airline partners. Under the majority of the Company’s code-share agreements, the Company receives weekly payments from its major code-share partners that approximate a significant percentage of the compensation earned for such period. Additionally, the Company provides certain customer service functions at multiple airports for various airlines and the Company maintains a credit loss reserve based upon expected collectability of all accounts receivable. For the years ended December 31, 2025, 2024, and 2023, the Company’s contractual relationships with Delta and United combined accounted for approximately 70.3%, 72.3% and 70.9%, respectively of the Company’s total revenues.
Employees Under Collective Bargaining Agreements
As of December 31, 2025, the Company had approximately 15,800 employees. Although no SkyWest Airlines employees are represented by a national union, the majority of SkyWest Airlines’ employees are covered by a written, stable and binding collective bargaining agreement under the Railway Labor Act, entered into between SkyWest Airlines and long-established labor associations, such as the SkyWest Airlines Pilot Association (“SAPA”).
Aircraft and Other Purchase Commitments
As of December 31, 2025, the Company had a purchase commitment to purchase 69 new E175 aircraft from Embraer with anticipated delivery dates through 2032, including a purchase agreement the Company entered into with Embraer during the second quarter of 2025. Under this commitment, the Company expects to purchase and place into service eight E175 aircraft with United, one E175 aircraft with Alaska and 16 E175 aircraft with Delta. The remaining purchase commitment delivery positions for 44 E175 aircraft are from 2028 through 2032. The Company also had a purchase agreement to acquire two used E170 aircraft with anticipated closing dates in 2026.
In addition to the above, in 2024, the Company entered into a master equipment purchase agreement with another airline to acquire certain airframes and engines and lease the assets back to the airline under a five-year term. The Company accounted for the transaction as a failed sale-leaseback in accordance with ASC 842 as the criteria for a sale were not met. At December 31, 2025, the Company estimates the remaining financing obligation under the agreement will be between $20.0 million and $25.0 million and anticipates closing on the remaining financings during 2026.
Guarantees
In 2022, the Company agreed to guarantee $19.8 million of debt for a 14 CFR Part 135 air carrier. The debt is secured by the Part 135 air carrier’s aircraft and engines and has a five-year term. In exchange for providing the guarantee, the Company received 6.5% of the guaranteed amount as consideration, payable in the estimated value of common stock of the Part 135 air carrier, all of which was sold in 2023. The balance of the debt under the guarantee was $12.6 million as of December 31, 2025.
In 2023, the Company agreed to guarantee up to $12.0 million of debt for an aviation school. The debt was secured by the school’s aircraft and engines and had a five-year term. In exchange for providing the guarantee, the Company received 2.0% of the guaranteed amount annually as consideration in cash. In June 2025, the aviation school fully repaid the debt under the guarantee agreement. As a result, the Company was no longer a guarantor at December 31, 2025.
The purpose of these guarantees is to help reduce the financing costs of aircraft for the third-parties in an effort to increase the potential number of commercial pilots in the Company’s hiring pipeline. The Company also recorded the estimated credit loss associated with the guarantees based on publicly available historical default rates issued by a third party for companies with similar credit ratings, factoring the collateral and guarantee term.
Historical Timeline
| Fiscal Year | Filed | |
|---|---|---|
| 2025 | Feb 17, 2026 | Showing above |
| 2024 | Feb 13, 2025 | |
| 2023 | Feb 15, 2024 | |
| 2022 | Feb 16, 2023 | |
| 2021 | Feb 17, 2022 | |
| 2020 | Feb 22, 2021 | |
| 2019 | Feb 18, 2020 | |
| 2018 | Feb 21, 2019 | |
| 2017 | Feb 26, 2018 | |
| 2016 | Feb 27, 2017 | |
| 2015 | Feb 26, 2016 | |
About Commitments Disclosures
Commitments and contingencies disclosures catalog a company's off-balance-sheet obligations and legal exposures — purchase commitments, guarantee arrangements, pending litigation, and regulatory proceedings. These items represent potential future cash outflows that may not appear as liabilities on the balance sheet until they become probable and estimable.
Key signals: litigation reserves and disclosed loss ranges quantify management's estimate of legal exposure, but unquantified "reasonably possible" losses often represent the larger risk. Watch for changes in language around pending cases — shifts from "remote" to "reasonably possible" or increases in estimated loss ranges signal deteriorating outcomes. Unconditional purchase obligations and take-or-pay contracts create fixed cost structures that reduce operational flexibility. Guarantee arrangements for subsidiaries or joint ventures can create cascading obligations. Compare the total commitment schedule against projected free cash flow to assess whether the company can meet its obligations without additional financing.