The company was founded on April 26, 1972, when Ralph Atkin bought Dixie Airlines, headquartered in St. George, Utah. Its operation includes air ambulance service, air charter service, and flight and aircraft maintenance offered by a Fixed base operation (FBO). They started with 256 passengers utilizing SkyWest's service in the first year. On June 19, 1972, SkyWest flew their first scheduled flight by Jerry Fackrell to Salt Lake City from St. George with a stop in Cedar City