SkyWest branded ops. Game on, Republic!
I'm not sure where you're getting the idea that this is "branded ops." The tickets will all be sold on the AirTran website. You have no "branded" operation. They just aren't painting the airplanes in AirTran colors. All the money comes to AirTran, and then AirTran divides the money up and sends some of it to Skywest and keeps some of it. The risk is shared, because AirTran only pays Skywest for a portion of its cost up front, and the ticket revenue is supposed to cover the rest. If there is no ticket revenue, then both Skywest and AirTran can lose money.