In recognition of 25 years of service, officials at the Santa Maria Public Airport are saying thank you to SkyWest United Express.

The air carrier celebrated its silver anniversary as an airport tenant Friday, a milestone that airport officials are relieved to be marking.

Until recently, with the arrival of Allegiant Air, SkyWest was the only air carrier serving Santa Maria. Other carriers, including American, Delta and United, pulled out of the airport in the 1990s, and by 1999, SkyWest was all that was left, officials said.

&#8220It/s been very important (SkyWest) stuck with us through thick and thin,C said Carl Engel, airport board president, adding that without the carrier, there would have been no choice for Santa Maria Valley travelers.

SkyWest has five daily flights between Santa Maria and Los Angeles, with the first departure at 6:15 a.m. and the last arrival at 9:45 p.m.

Airport officials hope that as facility improvements are completed and more people start using the airport, SkyWest will consider adding more flights to more destinations.

So far, the baggage claim is completed and the expanded waiting room is expected to be finished in early 2008. Officials are also working on extending the runway to 8,000 feet.

SkyWest has hubs in Chicago; Denver; Kansas City, Mo.; Los Angeles; Milwaukee; Portland, Ore.; Salt Lake City and San Francisco.

By keeping the company up to date on airport development, &#8220they can/t help but realize things are happening here,C Engel said.

SkyWest operates as United Express on the West Coast and out of Denver and Chicago in a partnership with United Airlines. The carrier also partners with Delta Airlines as Delta Connection in Salt Lake City, and flies as MidWest Connect out of Milwaukee and Kansas City with MidWest Airlines, according to a company statement.

SkyWest had 19.5 million passengers in 2006 and 9.5 billion revenue passenger miles flown that same year. (A revenue passenger mile is equal to one fare paying passenger flown one mile.)

The regional airline has more than 10,700 employees and 275 aircraft in its operating fleet.

August 25, 2007