Lucky for SkyWest that nobody wanted the little airline, even if it was free. The St. George-based carrier has become the biggest independently owned regional carrier in the United States. On Tuesday, SkyWest marked the 35th anniversary of its first scheduled flight, a hop from St. George to Salt Lake City, with a stop along the way in Cedar City.

The plane was a twin-engine Piper Seneca with room for six. Fares were $28 from St. George, $25 from Cedar City.

"We could say that we never canceled a flight. We may have gotten there four hours late, but we got people to their destination," SkyWest founder Ralph Atkin said at the time.

Under Jerry Atkin, who took over his uncle's airline at age 26, SkyWest found its bearings. Today, the St. George-based carrier has almost 11,000 employees and more than 1,800 daily departures. It flies to 146 destinations in the United States and Canada. Last year it carried more than 19 million passengers.

And it makes money, unlike many U.S. airlines.

"Today is about celebrating the SkyWest people - paying tribute to those who are a part of our phenomenal history, our present and the vast possibilities of the future," SkyWest President Chip Childs said Tuesday.

Atkin, the carrier's chairman and CEO, was unavailable for comment. He is overseas on a business trip, spokeswoman Marissa Snow said.

The company is a subsidiary of SkyWest Inc., which also owns Atlantic Southeast Airlines. It flies as a contract carrier for Delta Air Lines and United Airlines. In April, it began flying jets for Midwest Airlines as Midwest Connect.

SkyWest's snowballing growth hasn't been without pain. The company is scrambling to hire 3,000 new workers this year. Dissatisfied pilots are attempting to unionize. And bad weather last winter forced the airline to cancel thousands of flights and hurt its on-time performance record.

"The industry can be difficult, but SkyWest has always approached challenge as an opportunity," Childs said.

Childs declined to say where growth will lead SkyWest next. But the company's "quality, economics and culture" have put SkyWest in a position "to aggressively pursue growth opportunities."

pbeebe@sltrib.com

SkyWest Airlines was born 35 years ago when St. George lawyer Ralph Atkin bought Dixie Airlines.

* June 19, 1972: First scheduled flight from St. George to Salt Lake City.

* 1975: Jerry Atkin, 26, becomes the youngest president of a passenger airline in the country. Losses reach $300,000, putting SkyWest on the verge of bankruptcy.

* 1984: SkyWest buys Sun Aire. The acquisition makes SkyWest the country's 11th-largest regional airline.

* 1985: SkyWest begins flying as feeder carrier for Western Airlines.

* 1986: SkyWest launches its initial public offering.

* 1986: Delta Air Lines buys Western; SkyWest contracts with Delta as the Delta Connection.

* 1997: SkyWest begins flying as feeder carrier for United Airlines as United Express.

* 1998: SkyWest begins flights to Vancouver, British Columbia, its first non-U.S. destination.

* 2005: SkyWest Inc. buys Atlantic Southeast Airlines.

* 2006: SkyWest begins flying as feeder carrier for Midwest Airlines. SkyWest Inc.'s net income is $145.8 million.