SkyWest Inc., the regional airline buying ExpressJet Holdings Inc., would consider purchasing Comair from Delta Air Lines Inc. and said U.S. commuter carriers may benefit from further consolidation.
“The market is getting so competitive, and the inability of the transportation industry to generate profit requires more efficiency,” Brad Rich, chief financial officer of St. George, Utah-based SkyWest, said Wednesday in an interview.
SkyWest’s agreement to buy Houston-based ExpressJet for $6.75 a share in cash, or a net price of about $133 million, is the third proposed purchase of a U.S. regional airline since July 1. Delta agreed that day to sell Mesaba to Pinnacle Airlines Corp. and Compass to Trans States Holdings Inc.
“We are not advocates of consolidation if the consolidation doesn’t lead to efficiency and productivity,” said Rich.
