Virgin Australia said it has reached an agreement in principle to buy a 100-percent stake in Perth, Australia-based Skywest Airlines. Announced on October 30 and still subject to approvals from regulatory authorities and Skywest shareholders, the deal would see the Western Australian regional assume the Virgin Australia brand and, according to Virgin Australia CEO John Borghetti, benefit from further investment by the would-be parent company. Skywest would continue to fly its fleet of Fokker 100s and 50s, along with its single Airbus A320, under its own operators’ certificate and management team, promised Borghetti. The bid for Skywest comes as Virgin Australia announced it had bought a 60-percent stake in domestic rival Tiger Airways Australia and sold 10 percent of its own shares to Singapore Airlines.