inflightboi175
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Discount carrier AirTran Airways, which has injected a strong dose of low-cost competition at Mitchell International Airport in recent years, signaled Monday that it will continue to expand its operations aggressively at Milwaukee's main airport and keep fare prices under pressure.
The airline, which began flying into Milwaukee seven years ago, will announce Tuesday that it will begin basing pilots and flight attendants in Milwaukee starting in April, in a move that means Milwaukee joins Atlanta's Hartsfield International as the only other U.S. airport that acts as an operations base and hub for the nation's ninth-biggest airline.
The move will add jobs at Mitchell and thrust Milwaukee into the heart of AirTran's national strategy as Mitchell becomes a hub airport connecting passengers who transfer between flights that don't originate or end in Milwaukee, AirTran officials said Monday.
"A crew base is a major decision for an airline, which signals that they are establishing a hub operation," said Barry Bateman, director of Mitchell airport. "It's a strong signal that they are serious that they are making Milwaukee a major operation."
The company was unable to predict exactly how many pilot and flight attendant jobs will have their residence in Milwaukee. Pilots and attendants are able to live anywhere that their employer flies, the airline noted. However, it is inevitable that some jobs will move to Milwaukee because the company's initial goal is to have 50 pilots and 50 or more flight attendants who base their assignments out of Mitchell.
Existing AirTran employees will be able to bid for Milwaukee-based positions according to their seniority. After that, the company will begin to recruit around Milwaukee, the airline said.
"These are initial numbers," AirTran vice president Kevin Healy said. "They could double, or in the case of flight attendants, they could triple over time."
The airline said its expansion and hub strategy is a clear sign of its commitment to further growth.
"For each of the last three years, we have doubled the size of our presence in Milwaukee in terms of our flights, our employees and the number of markets served," Healy said.
AirTran began flying into Milwaukee in 2002 as a single spoke out of its Atlanta hub. By April, it expects to operate 52 flights a day to 22 destinations, meaning Milwaukee represents 11% of its national traffic. Those figures include AirTran's new code-sharing partnership with SkyWest Inc., a regional carrier that will feed passengers onto AirTran flights.
AirTran, owned by Orlando, Fla.-based AirTran Holdings Inc., this year became the second-largest airline at Mitchell, pulling ahead of the former No. 2 carrier, Northwest Airlines, which Delta Air Lines acquired a year ago. Midwest Airlines, owned by Republic Airways Holdings Inc., is Milwaukee's No. 1 carrier.
AirTran credits itself with shifting the price structure at Mitchell. Its low fares have catalyzed price wars, which in turn have helped attract new passengers, Healy said.
Mitchell's passenger boardings grew in record numbers for 17 consecutive months through August 2008. They also began hitting new records in September. Bateman attributes the growth to the lower fares. More recently, low-cost carrier Southwest Airlines began flying to Mitchell, a move that adds to the price competition.
AirTran has shown a strong interest in the Milwaukee market since 2007, when it lost an unsolicited bid to acquire Midwest.
Asked why AirTran is attracted to Milwaukee, Healy said Mitchell has been operating below its potential for years. It would have had more passengers if its fares were lower, he said.
"We demonstrated that the market is bigger than it historically has been, and now you even have new competition coming in to try to get a piece of the growing pie," Healy said.
AirTran's announcement is the second in as many months involving new jobs at Mitchell-based carriers.
In November, Republic Airlines said it would consolidate its maintenance operations at Mitchell, adding up to 800 jobs in Milwaukee and Oak Creek over the next year.
http://www.jsonline.com/business/80242707.html
The airline, which began flying into Milwaukee seven years ago, will announce Tuesday that it will begin basing pilots and flight attendants in Milwaukee starting in April, in a move that means Milwaukee joins Atlanta's Hartsfield International as the only other U.S. airport that acts as an operations base and hub for the nation's ninth-biggest airline.
The move will add jobs at Mitchell and thrust Milwaukee into the heart of AirTran's national strategy as Mitchell becomes a hub airport connecting passengers who transfer between flights that don't originate or end in Milwaukee, AirTran officials said Monday.
"A crew base is a major decision for an airline, which signals that they are establishing a hub operation," said Barry Bateman, director of Mitchell airport. "It's a strong signal that they are serious that they are making Milwaukee a major operation."
The company was unable to predict exactly how many pilot and flight attendant jobs will have their residence in Milwaukee. Pilots and attendants are able to live anywhere that their employer flies, the airline noted. However, it is inevitable that some jobs will move to Milwaukee because the company's initial goal is to have 50 pilots and 50 or more flight attendants who base their assignments out of Mitchell.
Existing AirTran employees will be able to bid for Milwaukee-based positions according to their seniority. After that, the company will begin to recruit around Milwaukee, the airline said.
"These are initial numbers," AirTran vice president Kevin Healy said. "They could double, or in the case of flight attendants, they could triple over time."
The airline said its expansion and hub strategy is a clear sign of its commitment to further growth.
"For each of the last three years, we have doubled the size of our presence in Milwaukee in terms of our flights, our employees and the number of markets served," Healy said.
AirTran began flying into Milwaukee in 2002 as a single spoke out of its Atlanta hub. By April, it expects to operate 52 flights a day to 22 destinations, meaning Milwaukee represents 11% of its national traffic. Those figures include AirTran's new code-sharing partnership with SkyWest Inc., a regional carrier that will feed passengers onto AirTran flights.
AirTran, owned by Orlando, Fla.-based AirTran Holdings Inc., this year became the second-largest airline at Mitchell, pulling ahead of the former No. 2 carrier, Northwest Airlines, which Delta Air Lines acquired a year ago. Midwest Airlines, owned by Republic Airways Holdings Inc., is Milwaukee's No. 1 carrier.
AirTran credits itself with shifting the price structure at Mitchell. Its low fares have catalyzed price wars, which in turn have helped attract new passengers, Healy said.
Mitchell's passenger boardings grew in record numbers for 17 consecutive months through August 2008. They also began hitting new records in September. Bateman attributes the growth to the lower fares. More recently, low-cost carrier Southwest Airlines began flying to Mitchell, a move that adds to the price competition.
AirTran has shown a strong interest in the Milwaukee market since 2007, when it lost an unsolicited bid to acquire Midwest.
Asked why AirTran is attracted to Milwaukee, Healy said Mitchell has been operating below its potential for years. It would have had more passengers if its fares were lower, he said.
"We demonstrated that the market is bigger than it historically has been, and now you even have new competition coming in to try to get a piece of the growing pie," Healy said.
AirTran's announcement is the second in as many months involving new jobs at Mitchell-based carriers.
In November, Republic Airlines said it would consolidate its maintenance operations at Mitchell, adding up to 800 jobs in Milwaukee and Oak Creek over the next year.
http://www.jsonline.com/business/80242707.html
