Midwest Airlines

This article needs additional citations for verification. Please help improve this article by adding reliable references. Unsourced material may be challenged and removed. (July 2009)

Midwest Airlines

IATA YX ICAO MEP Callsign MIDEX
Founded	1948 as K-C Aviation
Hubs	Milwaukee General Mitchell International Airport Kansas City International Airport
Focus cities	Omaha Eppley Airfield
Frequent flyer program	Midwest Miles
Member lounge	Best Care Club
Fleet size	25 (10 orders)
Destinations	18
Company slogan	The Best Care In The Air
Parent company	Republic Airways Holdings
Headquarters	Oak Creek, Wisconsin
Key people	Bryan Bedford (Chairman / President / CEO)
Website	Midwestairlines.com

Midwest Airlines (formerly Midwest Express) is a U.S.-based airline and current operating brand of Republic Airways Holdings based in Oak Creek, Wisconsin,^[1] operating from the city's General Mitchell International Airport. Midwest Airlines is largely known for its Signature Service all business class seating arrangement, which includes leather seats arranged 2-by-2 and the iconic fresh-baked chocolate-chip cookies.

In early 2008 the airline's publicly traded parent Midwest Air Group was taken over by the private investment firm TPG Capital with a minority investment by Northwest Airlines (now part of Delta Air Lines). The new owners halted airline operations by its Skyway Airlines subsidiary and contracted out all Midwest Connect flights. Skyway now provides ground services for Midwest flights. On June 23, 2009, Republic Airways announced it is acquiring Midwest Airlines for $31 million.^[2]

Midwest Airlines final flight operated with a Boeing 717 and staffed with Midwest Airlines flight crews landed in Milwaukee on November 2, 2009. ^[3] Effective November 3, 2009, Midwest Airlines ceased to exist as an actual operating airline (allowing its DOT air carrier operator certificate to lapse). However, the airline shall continue to operate using the same branding, livery and a very similar route structure maintaining the Milwaukee hub and base along with Kansas City's hub and a new focus city operation in Omaha.

History

K-C Aviation

Midwest Airlines began life in 1948, when Kimberly-Clark began providing air transportation for company executives and engineers between the company's Neenah, Wisconsin headquarters and their mills. Early employee shuttle destinations included Chicago O'Hare, Memphis, and Atlanta's Fulton County Airport.

In 1969, K-C Aviation was born from this, and was dedicated to the maintenance of corporate aircraft.

Midwest Express

After the Airline Deregulation Act of 1978, Kimberly-Clark and K-C Aviation decided to form a regular scheduled passenger airline, and out of that initiative, Midwest Express started on June 11, 1984. At the time the airline had two DC-9's and 83 employees.^[4] Early plans for the airline called for it to serve Appleton, Chicago, and Atlanta. However, Kimberly-Clark opted against this plan after local resistance over the carrier's desire to serve Atlanta's Fulton County Airport, which is a general aviation airport on the city's west side.

The airline slowly grew by adding Douglas DC-9 aircraft to its fleet. Eventually, Midwest Express served most major Midwestern and Eastern destinations. Their longtime slogan, The Best Care in the Air, represents their inflight product. For many years, all flights featured 2-by-2 leather seating, ample legroom, and inflight meals and cookies. This made the airline popular with business travelers. In addition, Midwest Express operated a sizable executive charter operation with a specially-configured DC-9.

In the 1990s, Midwest Express began adding McDonnell Douglas MD-80 aircraft to their fleet. The airline experienced steady growth along with continued profitability. Midwest Express also started their own regional subsidiary, Skyway Airlines, The Midwest Express Connection, to provide commuter airline service to small communities in Wisconsin and the surrounding region. Kimberly-Clark relinquished its ownership in two initial public offerings on September 22, 1995 and May 8, 1996.^[5] Its former parent company Midwest Air Group traded on the American Stock Exchange under the ticker symbol "MEH."

Midwest Express also added Midwest Vacations in the 1990s, naming GOGO Worldwide Vacations as the original partner to provide hotel service^[6] and later partnering with Mark Travel^[7]. Midwest Airlines Vacations continues to operate as a vacation provider.

After fourteen years of profit-making, Midwest Express was affected with serious financial problems after the September 11 terrorist attacks. To return to profitability, the airline made major changes to its product. First, they reconfigured some MD-80 series aircraft into a new 'Saver Service', featuring cloth coach seats in a 2-by-3 arrangement. Saver Service, while decreasing the width of the seats, continues to feature ample legroom. This service was initially offered from their Milwaukee and Kansas City hubs to leisure destinations such as Florida, Los Angeles, Las Vegas, and Phoenix on McDonnell Douglas MD-80 aircraft. The airline's Signature Service was also affected by the financial difficulties. The signature gourmet meal services, which had been served on china after being cooked on board, were discontinued in 2002.

Midwest Airlines

A Skyway Airlines Fairchild-Dornier 328JET painted in the colours of Midwest Connect at General Mitchell International Airport in Milwaukee, WI. SkyWest Airlines aircraft operate under contract to Midwest.

In 2002, the airline made another major change, shortening its name from Midwest Express to simply Midwest. A major reason for the change was the modern association of 'express' with a regional airline, which Midwest was not. At the same time, Midwest's commuter airline subsidiary changed its name from Skyway Airlines, the Midwest Express Connection, to Midwest Connect. In a move to save money on jet fuel, the airline accelerated the replacement of DC-9 aircraft with the Boeing 717. On May 23, 2006, Midwest Airlines accepted one of the last two Boeing 717s delivered in a ceremony with AirTran Airways, who accepted the other 717. Midwest also announced that select MD-80 aircraft would leave the fleet.

In May 2005, Midwest announced a new buy-on-board meal service for customers. The new program is a change from the previous 'In-flight Cafe' and features chefs and inspiration from the renowned Mader's restaurant. They also bake chocolate chip cookies on the plane and serve them warm.

Midwest has become the largest longstanding operation at Mitchell Airport and served 21 cities non-stop (serving San Antonio only through Kansas City), while their regional partner Skyway Airlines, operating as Midwest Connect, served nearly 30 destinations throughout the Central United States. Since the late 1990s, Midwest has built a secondary hub at Kansas City International Airport, where they operate nonstop service to 13 cities across the country.

Announced May 17, 2007, Midwest Airlines signed a Memorandum of Understanding with Northwest Airlines to form a codeshare agreement with them. The codeshare agreement added 250 city pairs and 1,000 new flight options for Midwest Airlines customers. Northwest routes that include the Midwest Airlines YX code are destinations beyond Northwest's hubs at Detroit, Minneapolis/St. Paul and Memphis throughout the United States and Canada. Midwest has placed its code on Northwest flights from Indianapolis, a Northwest focus city. Additionally, Midwest's code appears on a number of Northwest-operated flights to Hawaii and Alaska. Routes operated by Midwest Airlines that carry the NW Northwest code are flights that connect at Midwest's Milwaukee and Kansas City hubs, as well as Omaha -- a Midwest focus city.^[8] Northwest also codeshares on Midwest Airlines-operated flights between Milwaukee and Kansas City to Atlanta, Boston, Hartford, Los Angeles and San Francisco that connect to the Northwest/KLM trans-Atlantic network and trans-Pacific network.

Midwest has won more awards for exceptional service in Condé Nast Traveler Magazine than any other U.S. airline.

Acquisition by TPG

In December 2006, AirTran Holdings Inc. -- owner of AirTran Airways -- made public that in December 2005 it had approached the Board of Directors of Midwest Air Group—owner of Midwest Airlines and Midwest Connect—and had asked the board to negotiate a sale of the company. That AirTran offer in 2005 was rebuffed by Midwest's board, which also rebuffed a second offer in late 2006. In December 2006, AirTran disclosed the rejection of both offers in hopes of bringing shareholder pressure on Midwest's board to reconsider, which the board recommended that shareholders reject. [3]

On August 12, 2007, it was announced that AirTran had lost the bid for Midwest. A private equity group, headed by TPG Capital and including Northwest Airlines, had inquired to purchase Midwest and will turn the airline into a privately funded company. The inclusion of Northwest in the investing parters required anti-trust review from the United States Department of Justice, which reviews all airline mergers.^[9]

On August 14, 2007, AirTran increased its offer to the equivalent of $16.25 a share, slightly more than the $16 a share from TPG Capital investors group.^[10] However, Midwest announced TPG would increase its offer to $17 per share and a definitive agreement had been reached late on August 16, 2007.^[11]

On February 1, 2008, Midwest Air Group announced that the US Department of Justice had cleared the acquisition of Midwest by TPG Capital and Northwest. This finalized the acquisition: trading of Midwest Air Group on the American Stock Exchange ceased at the end of the trading day on January 31, 2008, and stockholders in Midwest received the agreed-upon $17 per share. This ended the independent existence of Midwest Airlines.

In accordance with the rest of the airline industry during the oil price increases since 2003, Midwest Airlines was forced to cut back services. To do this, Midwest Airlines announced their intent to ground the twelve remaining McDonnell Douglas MD-80 jets in its fleet. According to the company, the MD-80 "is a very fuel inefficient airplane and at the cost of fuel today it's just become economically infeasible to operate these planes." The MD-80s, and the crews that operated them, left Midwest in fall of 2008.^[12]

TPG Capitals Midwest Air Group failed to pay a $3.3 million ^[13] receivable due the outsourced regional airline replacement for Skyway Airlines which previously d/b/a as Midwest Connect. SkyWest was due the amount by June 30, 2008 forcing SkyWest Airlines to record a full reserve and corresponding reduction in revenue during the second quarter.

Additional changes were announced on September 3, 2008, when the airline announced that it had raised $60 million from TPG, Northwest Airlines, and Republic Airways Holdings. As part of the outsourcing deal, Republic Airlines is operating 12 Embraer 170 aircraft under the Midwest Airlines brand, though Midwest has the option to convert the aircraft into a long-term lease and operate them directly. The airline also reached an agreement with Boeing Capital to return 16 Boeing 717s, leaving it with a fleet of 9 aircraft.^[14]

Acquisition by Republic Airways Holdings

On June 23, 2009, Republic Airways Holdings, Inc announced would acquire Midwest Airlines for $31 million. The deal closed on July 30.^[15] Midwest became a wholly owned subsidiary of Republic Airways and will continue to operate under current branding.^[2] The Midwest Airlines FAA operating certificate expired on November 3, 2009.

Flight Outsourcing

On September 3, 2008, Midwest Airlines announced its plan to outsource ALL of its flight operations to Republic Airways. Republic will operate 12 new 76-seat Embraer 170 jets under the Midwest Connect name while Midwest will return all of its 25 Boeing 717 planes under a lease renegotiation.^[16] While this change caused the additional layoffs bringing the total of pink-slipped Midwest pilots to nearly 300^[17] and total employee cuts for the year to 1,850[4], Midwest indicates that it hopes to begin operating these new planes itself with Midwest crews in 8–12 months.^[16] Some Midwest pilots claim they have been told privately that Midwest, in fact, does not plan to seek the needed regulatory approvals to operate the new planes itself.^{[citation needed]}

The Midwest branch of the Air Line Pilots Association launched a campaign protesting the Midwest outsourcing plan shortly after it was announced. They argue that the pilots have already made significant concessions to help Midwest Airlines survive and that the company's new contract offers represent draconian demands.^[18]

Signature and Saver Service Added to All Aircraft

On May 29, 2007, Midwest announced the next phase of the company's strategic plan, which will offer customers the choice of Signature and Saver seating on all flights. The dual-seating option is available on its Boeing 717 fleet. The same amenities provided to all passengers on either aircraft, including leather seats.

The configuration of Midwest's Boeing 717 aircraft^[19]

• 40 Signature leather seats, arranged in 10 rows of two-by-two, offering a 36" pitch and providing 2-3 more inches of legroom than the previous Signature seating^[20]
• 59 Saver seats arranged two-by-three which the company claims are among the roomiest coach seats in the industry^[21]

The company projected that the implementation of seating choices would generate $30–35 million in annualized revenue.^[22]

The addition of 11 seats on each of the airline's 9 Boeing 717 aircraft would have reduced the airline's unit costs by increasing capacity 12.5%. Had the new seating configuration on the Boeing 717s been in effect in 2006, Midwest Airlines' cost per available seat mile excluding fuel of 7.22 cents would have been 6.77 cents, a 6.3% improvement.^{[citation needed]}

Services

Midwest Miles

Midwest Airlines' frequent flyer program is called Midwest Miles. They maintain one airport lounge, the Best Care Club at their Milwaukee hub in the D Concourse.

While Midwest is not a member of any airline alliance, Midwest Miles may be redeemed in the Northwest Airlines WorldPerks program, and vice versa. As of 2006^[update], Northwest route maps show Midwest as a partner airline as Northwest is pulling its non-hub flights out of Milwaukee.

Midwest Miles is unusual in that it has links to the Amtrak program. Midwest Miles members may transfer lots of 5,000 miles (8,000 km), up to a maximum of 25,000 miles per year to Amtrak's program. Amtrak points can be used for travel on Amtrak and Continental Airlines.

Cookies

Screenshot of Savethecookie campaign

A defining feature of the airline is the chocolate chip cookies baked on the planes and served near the end of flights. The airline began serving the cookies after a former employee experimented with different snacks on an empty leg of a charter flight.

The cookie was featured in Midwest advertisements, such as the "savethecookie" campaign in opposition to the proposed and failed AirTran takeover. The cookie is served at professional baseball games at Miller Park and Kauffman Stadium, as well as Bucks basketball and Admirals hockey games at Milwaukee's Bradley Center.^[23]

Destinations

Midwest Airlines currently provides mainline service to 18 destinations, as of November 2009, throughout the United States^[24] and Connect service to an additional 17 destinations in the United States.^[25]

Codeshare agreements

Midwest Airlines has a codeshare agreement with the following airline:

• Frontier Airlines: Flights in select markets to/from Frontier's hub in Denver.
• Delta Airlines: Flights on Northwest Airlines and Delta to 379 destinations worldwide

Fleet

Current fleet

As of November 2009^[update], Frontier Airlines pilots and crew operate 5 Airbus A319-100 aircraft for Midwest Airlines. All former Midwest Airlines Boeing 717 fleet were retired on November 3, 2009. Currently the majority of all the Midwest Airlines routes are being operated by Midwest Connect. Through outsourcing other airlines operating under the Midwest Connect branding Midwest can advertise and maintain a route system similar to what existed prior to Midwest Air Groups takeover by the TPG - Texas Pacific Group:^[26] The Boeing 717 aircraft were replaced by the Airbus A319 flown by Frontier Airlines and 15 Embraer 190 aircraft flown by Republic Airlines with 10 of these aircraft being purchased from US Airways^[27]

Retired fleet

Onboard services

Midwest Airlines serves non-alcoholic beverages and chocolate chip cookies for no charge. Alcoholic beverages are served for a charge. Midwest has "Best Care Cuisine," its buy on board food program with meals for purchase for breakfast, lunch, and dinner.^[30]

Incidents and accidents

This section needs additional citations for verification. Please help improve this article by adding reliable references. Unsourced material may be challenged and removed. (June 2009)

• On September 6, 1985, Midwest Express Flight 105 crashed upon takeoff from Milwaukee. As of 2008^[update]. this is Midwest's first and only fatal accident. The accident happened when a Douglas DC-9-14, N100ME, of the airline crashed while taking off from Milwaukee, bound for Atlanta's Hartsfield International Airport. According to NTSB reports, the crash was caused by improper pilot reaction when the plane's right engine failed due to stress corrosion cracking. The improper flight control inputs caused an uncommanded roll and accelerated stall. The 31 people on board died.
• On September 11, 2001, Midwest Airlines Flight 7 (Midex 7) narrowly missed a collision with hijacked United Airlines Flight 175 over the Hudson River at approximately 09:01 a.m. local time. The pilot of Midex 7 was forced to manouver the aircraft, under the direction of an air traffic controller, out of the flight path of Flight 175. One minute later, Flight 175 hit the South Tower of the World Trade Center killing all 65 passengers and crew on board and resulting in the collapse of the South Tower.
• On December 20, 2005, a Midwest Airlines Boeing 717 carrying 91 people made an emergency landing at Boston's Logan Airport, which was covered live on national news networks. No injuries were apparent in the landing, which showed sparks and flames shooting from the plane's right landing gear as it moved down the runway. The plane, flight 210 from Boston to Milwaukee, had turned back after takeoff because of problems with the landing gear and circled above Boston to burn off its jet fuel prior to landing. The NTSB Report states, "During takeoff, air traffic controllers observed sparks coming from the rear of the Boeing 717-200, and shortly thereafter, the pilot reported a problem with the right main landing gear and gear door, with the landing gear in the retracted position. The airplane circled for about an hour and a half to burn fuel, and the captain subsequently performed an uneventful landing. Examination of the airplane revealed that the number 4 wheel bearing failed, and the wheel race welded to the axle. As the wheel continued to rotate, the remaining races and bearings fragmented and separated from the wheel. Examination of the remaining three wheel hubs revealed the presence of water."

Wikinews has related news: Two airliners come within seconds of collision over Indiana, US

• On November 13, 2007, a Midwest Connect flight from Milwaukee bound for Dayton was in a near-collision with a United Express jet heading to Chicago from Greensboro while flying over northern Indiana. Air traffic controllers with Chicago Center directed the Midwest flight to begin its descent while traveling head-on towards the United Express CRJ a few thousand feet below. The planes came as close as 1.3 miles (2.1 km) apart horizontally and 600 feet (180 m) vertically. The Midwest Connect Dornier 328JET was just above the United Express aircraft and descending while they were closing in on each other. [5]. An audible TCAS alarm in the Midwest cockpit alerted the pilots of the proximity, allowing them to pull up in time to avert disaster.
• On July 8, 2008, a Midwest charter MD-81 carrying Presidential candidate Barack Obama made an emergency landing at Lambert Field in St. Louis, Missouri, after an evacuation slide inside the plane underneath the tail in the airstair passage way deployed, interfering with the plane's control cables, which affected the control of the pitch of the plane. The pilot radioed the control tower "at this time we would like to declare an emergency and also have CFR [crash equipment] standing by in St. Louis." A preliminary NTSB report said it detected "marks consistent with rubbing of elevator control cables" and a broken railing that "impinged upon elevator control cables."^[31] No one was injured. At the time, Obama's main campaign plane a North American Airlines Boeing 757 on lease by the dual Obama and McCain campaign contributing MatlinPatterson hedge fund firm and owner directors of Global Aero Logistics d/b/a North American Airlines, was being overhauled. It went back into campaign service on July 20.^[32]

• On December 29, 2008, a Midwest Connect flight made an emergency landing at General Mitchell International Airport after the pilot reported smoke in the cockpit. The plane, bound for Flint, Michigan, landed without incident. None of the 40 passengers was injured.^[33]

Livery

Closeup of the engine and tail of a Midwest 717, illustrating the updated logo and gold rings on the engine.

At the beginning of Midwest's life, they flew only DC-9s of the -10 and -30 series. The aircraft livery of these planes were painted in a dark blue on the upper half, and white on the lower half. The two were separated by two white, a blue, and a red cheatline, which ran up the trailing edge of the tail. The engines were white, and on the tail was a bold 'M' and a script 'E', representing Midwest Express, and the way the titles were printed. This scheme can still be found on one Beech 1900D of Midwest Connect, sans the 'M E' on the tail.^[34]

In the early 1990s, the airline started to add DC-9-80, more commonly known as the MD-80 or "Super 80", aircraft to their fleet, initially in the same livery. It wasn't until the mid-90s that they changed the paint scheme. The top half of the aircraft remained blue, but the bottom half was repainted grey, along with the engines, and they were now separated by a gold, white, and red cheatline. The tail logo also took minor changes, adding a circle around the lettering and a gold, white, and red stripe from the circle to the leading edge of the tail. Despite the unchanged lettering on the tail, the titles on the fuselage were changed to all bold letters, rather than the script "Express" titles.^[35]

In 2003, Midwest Express Airlines began to create a new identity, as the first Boeing 717's were being delivered, and the DC-9 aircraft were being retired. They started with chopping the "Express" out of their name (and thus, off of the fuselage), and they designed a new logo which would help point them out as a representative of Milwaukee. The result was a logo that looks much like a wing, with a small 'M' inside of it. However, if the logo is turned on its side, it bears a resemblance to the Milwaukee Art Museum, designed by Santiago Calatrava, which was being constructed at the same time. The Art Museum has risen out as an icon of Milwaukee, and so the new Midwest Airlines felt this would be a good representation. Along with this new identity came a new livery. The bottom of the aircraft remained grey, while the top were repainted in a lighter, deeper blue, with essentially the same gold, white, and red cheatlines separating the two. On the lower half, there was also a blue swoop, starting at the front (looking much like another stripe), getting larger as it goes back, until it covers the whole tail section. The engines on these planes were painted in the same blue color, with 4 gold rings on the port engine, and 3 on the starboard. This was meant to represent the ranking of Captain and First Officer, along with where they sit. Only 3 MD-80 aircraft, registered N813ME, N822ME, and N823ME ever wore the full new livery; all other MD-80s had a sort of hybrid livery, combining the lighter blue, light gray engines/belly and stripes of the old Midwest Express livery with the current logo and titling of Midwest Airlines.^[36]

References

External links

Wisconsin portal

Companies portal

• Midwest Airlines official website
• Midwest Airlines Vacations official website
• My Midwest inflight magazine
• The Air Line Pilots Association, International representing the pilots of Midwest Airlines
• Association of Flight Attendants - CWA representing the flight attendants of Midwest Airlines