Airtran/Midwest, extended or end it?

[gearup5]

AirTran Mum on Midwest Offer
Wednesday May 16, 4:57 pm ET
By Dinesh Ramde, Associated Press Writer AirTran Mum on Potential Extension of Midwest Offer

MILWAUKEE (AP) -- With the clock winding down on its offer to buy Midwest Air Group Inc., AirTran Holdings Inc. gave no indication Wednesday of whether it would extend the bid, a cash and stock deal worth about $389 million .
In an e-mail, AirTran spokeswoman Judy Graham said she could not comment on the company's plans related to the tender offer, which was set to expire Wednesday at midnight EST.
AirTran, operator of low-cost carrier AirTran Airways, has courted the operator of regional Midwest Airlines since June 2005.
In April, Midwest's board unanimously rejected the latest offer, calling it "inadequate" and saying the Milwaukee-based airline could be more profitable alone.
Shares of Midwest Air rose 22 cents, or 1.48 percent, to $15.10 on Wednesday. AirTran was up 39 cents, or 3.42 percent, to $11.79.
The rejection is expected to set up a showdown at its annual shareholder meeting, set for June 14 in Milwaukee. AirTran has nominated three members for election to Midwest's nine-member board of directors. AirTran president and chief operating officer Bob Fornaro has said he believed shareholders would elect the slate.
Midwest chairman and chief executive Tim Hoeksema, in a letter accompanying the proxy statement filed Wednesday, urged shareholders to "protect your investment and preserve Midwest Airlines by rejecting the AirTran slate."
"AirTran's plan is to generate a transaction that will dismantle Midwest Airlines," he said. "if that were to happen, Midwest shareholders would be left with shares of a consistently underperforming stock in a commodity carrier that provides inferior service."
Orlando-based AirTran made an initial bid for Midwest worth $78 million in June 2005. AirTran took its courtship public in December and eventually directly to shareholders.
Associated Press writer Emily Fredrix contributed to this report from Milwaukee.

I am sure they will extend. My guess is 34% tendered.

 

[pit717]

who cares .....drop it ....midwest is not worth the money and is going out of business with their "new" plan anyway .........if they dont accept theyll be gone in a year ......so again who cares........why you all keep posting this crap is a mystery .............leave it alone ....nobody here has control

 

[Eagle757shark]

who cares .....drop it ....midwest is not worth the money and is going out of business with their "new" plan anyway .........if they dont accept theyll be gone in a year ......so again who cares........why you all keep posting this crap is a mystery .............leave it alone ....nobody here has control

You don't know Midwest is going to be gone in a year. Even though we don't have control, employees at both Midwest and AirTran have an interest because they both may be impacted by whatever happens in the next month. With not much more room to grow in Atlanta and over 50 new airplanes to come, AirTran will need a new hub. History has shown, airlines become larger and develop route structures through mergers and acquisitions. Most of the big airlines today have had atleast two mergers in their history. With competition and economics, you can only grow so much on your own. AirTran has reached a point where going forward they will be forced to look at merger partners. It is only a natural part of this business. I'd prefer AirTran do the buying than the other way around. So yes this crap means a lot to many of us on this board that work for AirTran and Midwest.

 

[pit717]

how do you spell bulls@#t..........oh yah nevermind......and i do work at airtran ......which i enjoy greatly.......however....dont care at all about midwest airlines.....no ...i dont "know" that they will be out of business in a year ....but please ...come on ...call me when were about to aquire nasa ...until then stop being a baby and posting this useless "oh gee were gonna get 25 airplanes and 375 pilots crap that noone cares about".....it just doesnt matter

 

[FlyWolf]

^^^^ Wow, I am speechless

 

[FlyWolf]

AirTran Bid Wins Key Support


By Paulo Prada


AirTran Holdings Inc. is expected to announce that holders of almost 57% of the shares of Midwest Air Group Inc. have agreed to sell their stock under AirTran's $389 million offer to acquire the Milwaukee-based airline, according to people familiar with AirTran's plans.
Because the support represents a shift in favor of its longstanding effort to purchase Midwest despite opposition from the rival ...

 

[FlyWolf]

Omg, it might be true 57% is the number

http://online.wsj.com/article/SB117937224402005904.html?mod=yahoo_hs&ru=yahoo

 

[Ty Webb]

Where's Baghdad Carol . . . .? Circle the wagons! Ready, Fire! Aim . . . .


.

 

[HighSpeedClimb]

AirTran Airways Named Fastest Growing Airline in Job Growth


The Transportation Department reported this week that AirTran Airways, a subsidiary of AirTran Holdings, Inc. (NYSE: AAI) , was the fastest growing airline in the industry for job growth in March 2007. The airline added 700 Crew Members, a payroll increase of 10.3 percent - the highest percentage of any of the major airlines included in the survey.
"AirTran Airways is proud of its ability to deliver on our promise of creating significant numbers of new jobs and to continue to thrive in this competitive industry," said Joe Leonard, chairman and CEO of AirTran Airways. "We guaranteed increased job growth, and this report presents even more evidence that we have kept our promise."
On Monday, April 30, 2007, AirTran Airways set a record for the number of new hires starting work at the airline on a single day. That day, 152 new Crew Members reported to work for company orientation and job training. The airline's total employment now exceeds 8,600 Crew Members.

 

[Ty Webb]

Hmmmmm . . . . held off hiring 700 workers until the first quarter closed, by the sound of it. Might be "record-breaking" but hardly original


.

AirTran Airways Named Fastest Growing Airline in Job Growth


The Transportation Department reported this week that AirTran Airways, a subsidiary of AirTran Holdings, Inc. (NYSE: AAI) , was the fastest growing airline in the industry for job growth in March 2007. The airline added 700 Crew Members, a payroll increase of 10.3 percent - the highest percentage of any of the major airlines included in the survey.
"AirTran Airways is proud of its ability to deliver on our promise of creating significant numbers of new jobs and to continue to thrive in this competitive industry," said Joe Leonard, chairman and CEO of AirTran Airways. "We guaranteed increased job growth, and this report presents even more evidence that we have kept our promise."
On Monday, April 30, 2007, AirTran Airways set a record for the number of new hires starting work at the airline on a single day. That day, 152 new Crew Members reported to work for company orientation and job training. The airline's total employment now exceeds 8,600 Crew Members.

 

[gearup5]

Man, I was way off!