Midway is making a return...

[superfly]

Just heard on the local news. Plan on 2-3 weeks before they start flying again. They said 6 airplanes and six cities with more expansion after March 1st next year. just like that big ugly cockroach you can't quite kill.


good luck for all those who get the call back!

 

[ShaftedbyJI]

Nooooooooooo

Our tax money down the drain, what a waste......... Shafted

 

[Freightrunner99]

Are the 6 planes going to be the CRJ or the 737? I sure hope they are going be under new management though.

 

[OviedoBob]

A complete waste of taxpayer money. They should be allowed to die and never be never heard from again.
Ex- Midway

 

[BluDevAv8r]

As a former frequent user of Midway, I disagree that they should be allowed to die. Midway used to be a nice little profitable (barely) operation. I spent 4 years during college flying them back and forth to LGA and I loved Midway, its employees, and the spirit behind the Triangle's Hometown Airline. Unfortunately, Bob Ferguson made many mistakes in the past few years.

The airline itself could be a viable entity, even in today's market, if a new management team were put in place, with a new vision and mission statement. Regaining the employee's trust and dedication would/should be a top priority. Flying to a few key high yield cities using the right aircraft with good service should be the top priority. Ferguson made so many blunders its scary. 1/2 the people reading this board could run that airline better than him. I just pray this works.

-Neal

 

[ultrarunner]

Today's paper said just 737's and they're getting a hair over 10 mil.

 

[Boz]

Hope they make it!

Read about there return on Nov. 30th. I hope these guys get something going. We have a lot of professionals that are on the street and this could help them get back to what they do best.

Good Luck guys!


_________Midway to Get at Least $12M in Aid______________


Midway to Get at Least $12 Million in Federal Money From Natinal Airline Bailout Program
By DOUG JOHNSON
Associated Press Writer



MORRISVILLE, N.C. (AP) -- Bankrupt Midway Airlines will get about $10 million from the national airline bailout program to resume flying, officials said Friday.


``We're delighted and we're thrilled, and we're pleased to be back in the air,'' chief executive officer Robert Ferguson said at a news conference Friday.

Ferguson said Midway would receive between $12 million and $12.5 million; however, a spokesman for the U.S. Department of Transportation said the airline was paid almost $10.1 million Friday.

Midway laid off 2,400 workers when it ceased flying Sept. 12, the day after terrorist attacks in the United States. Ferguson said 250 would be rehired, including 75 who remain on staff.

The airline formerly had a 40-plane fleet and 130 daily departures from Raleigh-Durham International Airport; now it will fly six 737 aircraft to about six cities, primarily on a north-south route along the East Coast, Ferguson said.

Flights should resume shortly before Christmas, with the schedule increasing toward spring, he said.

Earlier, a spokeswoman for U.S. Rep. David Price, D-N.C., said the money must be used to resume service and not to pay off creditors. The bailout money was authorized to help airlines recover from financial losses suffered after the Sept. 11 terrorist attacks.

Bill Mosley, a spokesman for the U.S. Transportation Department, said Midway was a unique case because it was the only one of the larger carriers not operating when it sought bailout money. It had filed Aug. 13 for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection.

``We had to look carefully at their application and determine if the language of the act they were indeed eligible,'' Mosley said. ``We determined they were, in part because they're on track to start service again.''

In its bankruptcy filing, Midway listed assets of $318 million and liabilities of $232 million. The company posted losses of $15 million in 2000 and another $15 million in the first six months of this year.

Midway had won a bankruptcy court judge's permission to borrow as much as $15 million to keep operating and pay some 700 employees who had already been laid off.

As of Sept. 12, $7 million of that had been spent.

Midway had targeted business travelers since moving here from Chicago in 1995 to pick up flights dropped by American Airlines when it dismantled its hub at the Raleigh airport. But ticket sales plummeted along with the economy.

The airline posted losses in four of its last five quarters because of high fuel prices; competition from Southwest Airlines, one of the nation's most successful low-fare carriers; and a sluggish economy that caused local companies to slice their corporate travel budgets

 

[Le Pilote]

It will just flood the east coast market even more! But best wishes for a return to the skies.

 

[WMUSIGPI]

So what is this Midway the fourth?
Are there any kind of recall rights for pilots from the previous attempt?

 

[English]

Old thread resurrected...not current and not relevant!

Le Pilote, what is your problem?

 

[Le Pilote]

You don't go out much, do you? Obviously no sense of humor!

 

[avoidingmyboss]

where can I apply?

 

[BlackPilot628]

Good Luck Midway Pilots!

 

[flyjumpseat]

Le Pilote -

Grow up. Stop bumpin the dead threads!

 

[Le Pilote]

Haha, ok, I'm done

on an unrelated note, anyone know where I can get an IPOD?

 

[justgrieveit]

Midway's assets

I thought Mesa bought their assests at auction a couple of years back including the certificate. I know we fly a few of their former CRJ's.

 

[PGTB]

With the same CEO nonetheless...What a bad idea. At list change the management.

 

[SkyBoy1981]

Its an old thread folks....Midway is gone for good. It is rather interesting to see these old responses though knowing how things panned out in the end.

 

[hawkerflyer]

If it can help any professional crews through very tough times, have at it. I must admit to really not understanding this insistence on an East Coast operation when there's such a problem with overcapacity.

 

[SkyBoy1981]

Its also amusing to see how many people don't actually read any replies to a thread before they reply themselves.