Flying the Line
Well-known member
- Joined
- Feb 17, 2004
- Posts
- 417
Welcome to Flightinfo.com
- Register now and join the discussion
- Friendliest aviation Ccmmunity on the web
- Modern site for PC's, Phones, Tablets - no 3rd party apps required
- Ask questions, help others, promote aviation
- Share the passion for aviation
- Invite everyone to Flightinfo.com and let's have fun
SWA going against McCaskill Bond?
- Thread starter BR715
- Start date
- Watchers 34
Welcome to Flightinfo.com
- Register now and join the discussion
- Modern secure site, no 3rd party apps required
- Invite your friends
- Share the passion of aviation
- Friendliest aviation community on the web
On Your Six
Well-known member
- Joined
- Mar 8, 2004
- Posts
- 4,507
What would the board of directors tell GK if he states SWA is losing money because of those lack of synergies? What about the stock holders at the annual stockholders meeting? I bet they will tell him to fix it, and fix it quick. They want PROFITS, not turmoil. This is starting to smell like the next USair, and that smells worse than Redflyer's last deposit at the ELP Airport La Quinta.
OYS
On Your Six
Well-known member
- Joined
- Mar 8, 2004
- Posts
- 4,507
Swa will take 30-40 days to convert seats paint etc per plane. All they have to do is have guys in class ahead of plane going down for maintence and that's answers everyones question what would GK do about pilots if other groups agreed to something. Other groups can integrate without each other. 7000 pilots had qualifications last window. It's not a take all groups or nothing deal if one group doesn't take offers if Swa is prepared for that scenario.
Thanks for the welcome back.
No new business; I kicked some ideas around but never got anything going yet. When you sit down and crunch the numbers, most plans fall apart because they aren't going to be profitable anytime in the near future. I'm not willing to pay money just to work.
I'm still being a lazy bum and hanging out in the pool most of the time. I'd like to travel with the wife but she's still gainfully employed in the AF. She got a TDY to Peru and took some leave at the end of it; I flew down there and we went to Machu Picchu so that was fun. She's got a long TDY to San Salvador coming up and I'll go down and visit her there but it's not a destination that rates very high on my list of places to go. Our big trip for this year is to Paris for New Years - I was trying to talk her into Sydney for New Years but she couldn't get enough time off to justify the long plane trip.
I can see that I came back here at yet another interesting time in aviation. I'm amazed at how few read the history of aviation. This is like watching Gary Kasparov play chess with a second grader ... many here are unwilling/unable to critically evaluate all of the possible countermoves. I've had the chance to consult with quite a few lawyers over the last few years (in a good way) and the halfway decent ones looked at all possible outcomes and made, at a minimum, rudimentary plans to address every possibility that they could think of.
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. On May 23, 2006, Midwest Airlines accepted one of the last two Boeing 717s delivered in a ceremony with AirTran Airways, who accepted the other 717. Midwest 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 was a change from the previous 'In-flight Cafe' and featured chefs and inspiration from the renowned Mader's restaurant. Chocolate chip cookies are baked on the plane and served warm.
Midwest became the largest longstanding operation at Mitchell Airport and served 21 cities non-stop (serving San Antonio only through Kansas City), while their regional partner Skyway Airlines, operating as Midwest Connect, served nearly 30 destinations throughout the Central United States. In the late 1990s, Midwest built a secondary hub at Kansas City International Airport, where nonstop service was operated to 13 cities across the country.
On May 17, 2007, Midwest Airlines signed a Memorandum of Understanding with Northwest Airlines to form a code share agreement with them. The code share agreement added 250 city pairs and 1,000 new flight options for Midwest Airlines customers. Northwest routes that 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 placed its code on Northwest flights from Indianapolis, a Northwest focus city. Additionally, Midwest's code appears on a number of Northwest-operated flights to Hawaii and Alaska. Routes operated by Midwest Airlines that 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.[9] Northwest also code shares 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, although it has not won an award from Conde Nast Traveler since it ceased to be an independent company.
[edit]Signature and Saver Service Added to All Aircraft
On May 29, 2007, Midwest announced the next phase of the company's strategic plan, which will offer customers the choice of Signature and Saver seating on all flights. The dual-seating option was previously available on its Boeing 717 fleet, which have since been returned to Boeing. The same amenities provided to all passengers on either aircraft, including leather seats.
The configuration of Midwest's Boeing 717 aircraft[10]
40 Signature leather seats, arranged in 10 rows of two-by-two, offering a 36" pitch and providing 2-3 more inches of legroom than the previous Signature seating[11]
59 Saver seats arranged two-by-three which the company claims are among the roomiest coach seats in the industry[12]
The company projected that the implementation of seating choices would generate $30–35 million in annualized revenue.[13]
The addition of 11 seats on each of the airline's 9 Boeing 717 aircraft would have reduced the airline's unit costs by increasing capacity 12.5%. Had the new seating configuration on the Boeing 717s been in effect in 2006, Midwest Airlines' cost per available seat mile excluding fuel of 7.22 cents would have been 6.77 cents, a 6.3% improvement.[citation needed]
[edit]Acquisition by TPG
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 to 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.[3]
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, purchased Midwest and turned the airline into a privately funded company. The inclusion of Northwest in the investing partners required anti-trust review from the United States Department of Justice, which reviews all airline mergers.[14]
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.[15] However, Midwest announced TPG would increase its offer to $17 per share and a definitive agreement had been reached late on August 16, 2007.[16]
On August 17, 2007 TPG and Northwest Airlines finalized their bid for Midwest with the final offer of $17 per share and a total deal of $450 million.
On February 1, 2008, Midwest Air Group announced that the US Department of Justice had cleared the acquisition of Midwest by TPG Capital and Northwest. This finalized the acquisition; trading of Midwest Air Group on the American Stock Exchange ceased at the end of the trading day on January 31, 2008, and stockholders in Midwest received the agreed-upon $17 per share. This ended the independent existence of Midwest Airlines.
In accordance with the rest of the airline industry during the oil price increases since 2003, Midwest Airlines was forced to cut back services. To do this, Midwest Airlines announced their intent to ground the twelve remaining McDonnell Douglas MD-80 jets in its fleet. According to the company, the MD-80 "is a very fuel inefficient airplane and at the cost of fuel today it's just become economically infeasible to operate these planes." The MD-80s, and the crews that operated them, left Midwest in fall of 2008.[17]
TPG Capitals Midwest Air Group failed to pay a $3.3 million [18] receivable due the outsourced regional airline replacement for Skyway Airlines which previously d/b/a as Midwest Connect. SkyWest was due the amount by June 30, 2008 forcing SkyWest Airlines to record a full reserve and corresponding reduction in revenue during the second quarter.
Additional changes were announced on September 3, 2008, when the airline announced that it had raised $60 million from TPG, Northwest Airlines, and Republic Airways Holdings. As part of the outsourcing deal, Republic Airlines is operating 12 Embraer 170 aircraft under the Midwest Airlines brand, though Midwest has the option to convert the aircraft into a long-term lease and operate them directly. The airline also reached an agreement with Boeing Capital to return 16 Boeing 717s, leaving it with a fleet of 9 aircraft.[19]
[edit]Acquisition by Republic Airways Holdings
On June 23, 2009, Republic Airways Holdings, Inc announced would acquire Midwest Airlines for $31 million. The deal closed on July 30.[20] Midwest became a wholly owned subsidiary of Republic Airways and continued to operate under current branding.[3] The Midwest Airlines FAA operating certificate expired on November 3, 2009. The acquisition by Republic was 22 months after TPG and Northwest Airlines paid $450 million for Midwest. The total loss of investment by TPG and Northwest was 93% or $419 million.
[edit]Flight Outsourcing
On September 3, 2008, Midwest Airlines announced its plan to outsource all of its flight operations to Republic Airways. Republic will operate 12 new 76-seat Embraer 170 jets under the Midwest Connect name while Midwest will return all of its 25 Boeing 717 planes under a lease renegotiation.[21] While this change caused the additional layoffs bringing the total of pink-slipped Midwest pilots to nearly 300[22] and total employee cuts for the year to 1,850 [4], Midwest indicates that it hopes to begin operating these new planes itself with Midwest crews in 8–12 months.[21] Some Midwest pilots claim they have been told privately that Midwest, in fact, does not plan to seek the needed regulatory approvals to operate the new planes itself.[citation needed]
The Midwest branch of the Air Line Pilots Association launched a campaign protesting the Midwest outsourcing plan shortly after it was announced. They argue that the pilots have already made significant concessions to help Midwest Airlines survive and that the company's new contract offers represent draconian demands.[23]
[edit]Merge into Frontier
In spring of 2010, parent company Republic Airways Holdings announced that its Frontier and Midwest Airlines brands would merge by October 2011. On April 13, Republic announced that the Frontier Airlines name would be kept.[2] Parts of the Midwest brand will be incorporated into the Frontier brand as part of the merger, namely the iconic Midwest cookie and the slogan of Midwest Airlines, "The Best Care In The Air."[2]
According to media reports, only very few employees have moved over from the previous Midwest umbrella to the new Republic Airways/Frontier company.[citation needed]
On October 1, 2010, midwestairlines.com was shut down for future reservations (besides frequent flyer tickets).
On October 28, 2010, midwestairlines.com was shut down. Users were redirected to www.frontierairlines.com.
Midwest's YX code was retired in early November 2010.
[edit]
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. On May 23, 2006, Midwest Airlines accepted one of the last two Boeing 717s delivered in a ceremony with AirTran Airways, who accepted the other 717. Midwest 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 was a change from the previous 'In-flight Cafe' and featured chefs and inspiration from the renowned Mader's restaurant. Chocolate chip cookies are baked on the plane and served warm.
Midwest became the largest longstanding operation at Mitchell Airport and served 21 cities non-stop (serving San Antonio only through Kansas City), while their regional partner Skyway Airlines, operating as Midwest Connect, served nearly 30 destinations throughout the Central United States. In the late 1990s, Midwest built a secondary hub at Kansas City International Airport, where nonstop service was operated to 13 cities across the country.
On May 17, 2007, Midwest Airlines signed a Memorandum of Understanding with Northwest Airlines to form a code share agreement with them. The code share agreement added 250 city pairs and 1,000 new flight options for Midwest Airlines customers. Northwest routes that 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 placed its code on Northwest flights from Indianapolis, a Northwest focus city. Additionally, Midwest's code appears on a number of Northwest-operated flights to Hawaii and Alaska. Routes operated by Midwest Airlines that 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.[9] Northwest also code shares 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, although it has not won an award from Conde Nast Traveler since it ceased to be an independent company.
[edit]Signature and Saver Service Added to All Aircraft
On May 29, 2007, Midwest announced the next phase of the company's strategic plan, which will offer customers the choice of Signature and Saver seating on all flights. The dual-seating option was previously available on its Boeing 717 fleet, which have since been returned to Boeing. The same amenities provided to all passengers on either aircraft, including leather seats.
The configuration of Midwest's Boeing 717 aircraft[10]
40 Signature leather seats, arranged in 10 rows of two-by-two, offering a 36" pitch and providing 2-3 more inches of legroom than the previous Signature seating[11]
59 Saver seats arranged two-by-three which the company claims are among the roomiest coach seats in the industry[12]
The company projected that the implementation of seating choices would generate $30–35 million in annualized revenue.[13]
The addition of 11 seats on each of the airline's 9 Boeing 717 aircraft would have reduced the airline's unit costs by increasing capacity 12.5%. Had the new seating configuration on the Boeing 717s been in effect in 2006, Midwest Airlines' cost per available seat mile excluding fuel of 7.22 cents would have been 6.77 cents, a 6.3% improvement.[citation needed]
[edit]Acquisition by TPG
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 to 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.[3]
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, purchased Midwest and turned the airline into a privately funded company. The inclusion of Northwest in the investing partners required anti-trust review from the United States Department of Justice, which reviews all airline mergers.[14]
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.[15] However, Midwest announced TPG would increase its offer to $17 per share and a definitive agreement had been reached late on August 16, 2007.[16]
On August 17, 2007 TPG and Northwest Airlines finalized their bid for Midwest with the final offer of $17 per share and a total deal of $450 million.
On February 1, 2008, Midwest Air Group announced that the US Department of Justice had cleared the acquisition of Midwest by TPG Capital and Northwest. This finalized the acquisition; trading of Midwest Air Group on the American Stock Exchange ceased at the end of the trading day on January 31, 2008, and stockholders in Midwest received the agreed-upon $17 per share. This ended the independent existence of Midwest Airlines.
In accordance with the rest of the airline industry during the oil price increases since 2003, Midwest Airlines was forced to cut back services. To do this, Midwest Airlines announced their intent to ground the twelve remaining McDonnell Douglas MD-80 jets in its fleet. According to the company, the MD-80 "is a very fuel inefficient airplane and at the cost of fuel today it's just become economically infeasible to operate these planes." The MD-80s, and the crews that operated them, left Midwest in fall of 2008.[17]
TPG Capitals Midwest Air Group failed to pay a $3.3 million [18] receivable due the outsourced regional airline replacement for Skyway Airlines which previously d/b/a as Midwest Connect. SkyWest was due the amount by June 30, 2008 forcing SkyWest Airlines to record a full reserve and corresponding reduction in revenue during the second quarter.
Additional changes were announced on September 3, 2008, when the airline announced that it had raised $60 million from TPG, Northwest Airlines, and Republic Airways Holdings. As part of the outsourcing deal, Republic Airlines is operating 12 Embraer 170 aircraft under the Midwest Airlines brand, though Midwest has the option to convert the aircraft into a long-term lease and operate them directly. The airline also reached an agreement with Boeing Capital to return 16 Boeing 717s, leaving it with a fleet of 9 aircraft.[19]
[edit]Acquisition by Republic Airways Holdings
On June 23, 2009, Republic Airways Holdings, Inc announced would acquire Midwest Airlines for $31 million. The deal closed on July 30.[20] Midwest became a wholly owned subsidiary of Republic Airways and continued to operate under current branding.[3] The Midwest Airlines FAA operating certificate expired on November 3, 2009. The acquisition by Republic was 22 months after TPG and Northwest Airlines paid $450 million for Midwest. The total loss of investment by TPG and Northwest was 93% or $419 million.
[edit]Flight Outsourcing
On September 3, 2008, Midwest Airlines announced its plan to outsource all of its flight operations to Republic Airways. Republic will operate 12 new 76-seat Embraer 170 jets under the Midwest Connect name while Midwest will return all of its 25 Boeing 717 planes under a lease renegotiation.[21] While this change caused the additional layoffs bringing the total of pink-slipped Midwest pilots to nearly 300[22] and total employee cuts for the year to 1,850 [4], Midwest indicates that it hopes to begin operating these new planes itself with Midwest crews in 8–12 months.[21] Some Midwest pilots claim they have been told privately that Midwest, in fact, does not plan to seek the needed regulatory approvals to operate the new planes itself.[citation needed]
The Midwest branch of the Air Line Pilots Association launched a campaign protesting the Midwest outsourcing plan shortly after it was announced. They argue that the pilots have already made significant concessions to help Midwest Airlines survive and that the company's new contract offers represent draconian demands.[23]
[edit]Merge into Frontier
In spring of 2010, parent company Republic Airways Holdings announced that its Frontier and Midwest Airlines brands would merge by October 2011. On April 13, Republic announced that the Frontier Airlines name would be kept.[2] Parts of the Midwest brand will be incorporated into the Frontier brand as part of the merger, namely the iconic Midwest cookie and the slogan of Midwest Airlines, "The Best Care In The Air."[2]
According to media reports, only very few employees have moved over from the previous Midwest umbrella to the new Republic Airways/Frontier company.[citation needed]
On October 1, 2010, midwestairlines.com was shut down for future reservations (besides frequent flyer tickets).
On October 28, 2010, midwestairlines.com was shut down. Users were redirected to www.frontierairlines.com.
Midwest's YX code was retired in early November 2010.
[edit]
Eastern went out of business because Eastern failed for many reasons. Neither the citizens of Atlanta or Delta were the culprits of that debackle, nor could they have saved Eastern.
SWA, unlike Eastern, strives to maintain a certain culture and public persona with the traveling public. It's an integral part of their marketing strategy. SWA wants to succeed in this competitive environment. In order to do that they need all parties striving to make SWA thrive. OTOH, Lorenzo could have cared less about Eastern, and not much more for Continental. While I can appreciate where your cynical and bitter attitude comes from, in this instance, it misses the mark.
Last edited:
Gl,
You are making false and disingenuous statements to the Airtran pilots. Additionally you are making them from a point of zero risk. Some would even argue from a point of wishing risk on others.
Either way, your integrity is certainly diminishing every single time you post. Worse yet, as a professional pilot, we could all say you have a right or obligation to your fellow professional aviators.
As an example , you are a cardiac physician giving advice to a cancer patient. It is disigenuous and morally wrong.
Share this page
Latest resources
-
-
-
-
-
AC 90-89C - Amateur-Built Aircraft and Ultralight Flight Testing HandbookAmateur-Built Aircraft and Ultralight Flight Testing Handbook
- Neal
- Updated:
