Midwest Airlines (formerly Midwest Express) was
a U.S.-based airline and was also an operating
brand of Republic Airways Holdings based in Oak
Creek, Wisconsin. Operating from Milwaukee's
General Mitchell International Airport.
On April 13, 2010, parent company Republic
announced that Midwest Airlines and Frontier
Airlines would merge, with the Midwest brand
disappearing in late 2011.
Midwest Airlines' final flight operated with a
Boeing 717 and staffed with Midwest Airlines
flight crews landed in Milwaukee on November 2,
2009. Effective November 3, 2009, Midwest
Airlines ceased to exist as an actual operating
airline (allowing its DOT air carrier operator
certificate to lapse).
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.
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. Early plans for the
airline called for it to serve Appleton,
Chicago, and Atlanta. 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, represented 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. 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 and later partnering
with Mark Travel. 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. 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, continued to feature ample legroom.
This service was initially offered from the
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 was largely known for its
Signature Service all business class seating
arrangement, which included leather seats
arranged 2-by-2 and 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 Midwest's Skyway
Airlines subsidiary and contracted out all
Midwest Connect flights. Skyway went on to
provide ground services for Midwest flights.
On June 23, 2009, Republic Airways acquired
Midwest Airlines for $31 million.
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