MIDWEST AIRLINES

:''For the Egyptian airline see: Midwest Airlines (Egypt)''
'Midwest Airlines' is an American scheduled passenger airline based in Milwaukee, Wisconsin, operating from 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 fresh-baked chocolate-chip cookies. This product is available on Boeing 717 aircraft.
Skyway Airlines is a sister airline also owned by Midwest Air Group that operates regional service under the name Midwest Connect.

Contents

History

K-C Aviation

Midwest Express

Midwest Airlines

Proposed AirTran / Midwest Airlines merger

Services

Midwest Miles

Cookies

Destinations

Fleet

Incidents and accidents

Livery

References

External links

History

K-C Aviation

Midwest Airlines began life in 1948, when Kimberly-Clark Corporation began providing air transportation for company executives and engineers between the company's Appleton headquarters and their mills.
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.^[1]
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. Kimberley-Clark relinquished its ownership in two initial public offerings on 22 September 1995 and 8 May 1996.^[2]
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 is 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 onboard, were discontinued in 2002.

Midwest Airlines

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. It was 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 step up 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 longstanding largest operation at Mitchell Airport and serves 21 cities non-stop (serving San Antonio only through Kansas City), while their regional partner Skyway Airlines, operating as Midwest Connect, serves nearly 30 destinations throughout the Central United States. Since the late 1990s, Midwest has built a focus city at Kansas City International Airport, where they presently operate nonstop service to 13 cities across the country.
On 23 May 2006, Midwest Airlines accepted one of the last two Boeing 717s delivered in a ceremony with AirTran Airways, who accepted the other 717. With the closure of the assembly line in Long Beach, California, this marked the end of commercial aircraft final assembly in California and the closure of the former Douglas commercial jet assembly facility. Large military jets are still produced in Long Beach, but it is expected to end in a few years when C-17 production ends.
Announced 17 May 2007, Midwest Airlines signed a Memorandum of Understanding with Northwest Airlines to form a codeshare agreement with them. The codeshare agreement will add 250 city pairs and 1,000 new flight options for Midwest Airlines customers. Northwest routes that will 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 will also place its code on Northwest flights from Indianapolis, a Northwest focus city. Additionally, Midwest's code will appear on a number of Northwest-operated flights to Hawaii and Alaska. Routes operated by Midwest Airlines that will 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. ^[3] Northwest will also codeshare 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.

Proposed AirTran / Midwest Airlines merger

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 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. [1]
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 may lead to anti-trust accusations from the United States Department of Justice, which reviews all airline mergers. ^[4]
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.^[5] However, Midwest announced TPG would increase its offer to $17 per share and a definitive agreement had been reached late on August 16, 2007. ^[6]

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, 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, 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

One of the most defining features of the airline are the chocolate chip cookies which are baked on the planes and served near the end of the flights. According to an exhibit on Midwest history at the Mitchell Gallery of Flight at the Mitchell Airport, the airline began serving the cookie after an executive experimented with the impact of smells on flights following a charter flight. Popcorn and pizza rolls did not make the cut.
The cookie is now featured in Midwest advertisements, used in Midwest's "savethecookie" campaign to stop the AirTran takeover, and is served at professional baseball games at Miller Park and Kauffman Stadium, and also basketball and hockey games at Milwaukee's Bradley Center.^[7]

Destinations

Main articles: Midwest Airlines destinations

'Midwest Airlines' currently flies to 22 destinations throughout the United States.

Fleet

As of September 2007, the Midwest Airlines all-Boeing (including McDonnell-Douglas) fleet includes 37 aircraft:^[8]

'Midwest Airlines Fleet'

Aircraft	Total	Passengers (Economy)	Routes	Notes
Boeing 717-200	25	88 (88)	Domestic	Signature service
McDonnell Douglas MD-81/82	6	147 (147)	Domestic	Saver Service
McDonnell Douglas MD-81	1	116 (116)	Domestic	Signature Service
McDonnell Douglas MD-81	2	74 (74)	Domestic	Signature Service (Charters)
McDonnell Douglas MD-88	3	143 (143)	Domestic	Saver Service

As of September 2007, the average fleet age of Midwest Airlines was 10 years old. ^[9]

Incidents and accidents

★ On 6 September 1985, Midwest Express Flight 105 crashed upon takeoff from Milwaukee. This is Midwest's first (and, as of 2007, only) fatal accident, when a Douglas DC-9 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 20 December 2005, Midwest Airlines Flight 210, a Boeing 717, experienced an issue with its landing gear while taking off from Logan International Airport. The aircraft, originally bound for Milwaukee, circled the airport for about two hours to burn off its surplus fuel. Ultimately, the aircraft returned to Boston Logan Airport and landed safely with only a few sparks trailing from the right main landing gear. The cause of the failure was a faulty wheel bearing in the aircraft delivered by Boeing only a month earlier.

Livery

At the beginning of Midwest's life, they flew only DC-9s of the -10 and -30 series. 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. ^[10]
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. ^[11]
In 2003, Midwest Express Airlines began to create a new identity, as the first Boeing 717s were being delivered, and the DC-9 aircraft were being retired. They started with chopping the "Express" out of their name (and thusly, 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. An error, however, occurred in the painting of the livery in the first aircraft. Boeing misunderstood the livery, and N902ME was delivered with 4 rings on both engines. The aircraft remains that way today. All other 717s delivered were painted correctly, along with one MD-80, registered N813ME (and two more to join the fleet in 2007). All other remaining MD-80s have 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.^[12]

References

1. Midwest history exhibit at Mitchell Museum of Flight at the Milwaukee Airport
2. ''Flight International'' 12-18 April 2005
3. OMA is Midwest Focus City
4. http://www.jsonline.com/story/index.aspx?id=645803
5. AirTran Airways Boosts Bid For Midwest Airlines (USA Today: August 14, 2007)
6. Midwest announces agreement with TPG (Milwaukee Journal Sentinel: August 16, 2007)
7. http://mymidwestmagazine.com/2007/05/01/welcome-2/
8. http://www.airfleets.net/flottecie/Midwest%20Airlines.htm
9. http://www.airfleets.net/ageflotte/Midwest%20Airlines.htm
10. Midwest Express Airlines DC-9-30 in startup livery on Airliners.net
11. Midwest Express Airlines DC-9-10 in intermediate colors on Airliners.net
12. Midwest Airlines 717 in "Calatrava" livery on Airliners.net

External links

★ Midwest Airlines homepage

★ Midwest Airlines Fleet Age

★ Corporate Blog "Travels with Tish -- Girlfriends' Getaway Guide

★ Flyertalk