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Midwest Airlines

Midwest Airlines (formerly Midwest Express) was a U.S. airline headquartered in Oak Creek, Wisconsin, that operated from Milwaukee Mitchell International Airport between 1984 and 2010. For a short time, it also operated as a brand of Republic Airways Holdings.[2]

For the Egyptian airline, see Midwest Airlines (Egypt). For the successor airline proposed to begin operations in 2019, see Midwest Express Airlines (2019).

IATA

1948 (1948)
(as K-C Aviation)

  • 1984 (1984)
    (as Midwest Express Airlines)
  • 2002 (2002)
  • (as Midwest Airlines)

November 2010 (2010-11)
(merged into Frontier Airlines)

Milwaukee

Midwest Miles

Oak Creek, Wisconsin, United States

Operations as an independent airline ceased in November 2010, upon its merger with Frontier Airlines.

History[edit]

K-C Aviation[edit]

Midwest Airlines began in 1948, when Kimberly-Clark began providing air transportation for company executives and engineers between the company's Neenah, Wisconsin headquarters and its mills. Operating out of the nearby Appleton International Airport, 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. K-C Aviation was sold in 1998 to Gulfstream Aerospace for $250 million; included were its operations in Appleton, Dallas, and Westfield, Massachusetts.[3]

Midwest Express[edit]

After the Airline Deregulation Act of 1978, Kimberly-Clark and K-C Aviation decided to form a regularly scheduled passenger airline, and Midwest Express began operations on June 11, 1984. At the time the airline had two Douglas DC-9-10 twin-engine jets and 83 employees.[4] Early plans for the airline called for it to serve Appleton, Chicago, and Atlanta. Kimberly-Clark then opted against this plan with regard to the Atlanta service after local resistance over the carrier's desire to serve Atlanta's Fulton County Airport, which is a general aviation airport located on the city's west side. From 1983 to 1985, the airline also operated a single Convair 580 twin-turboprop aircraft provided by Kimberly-Clark's corporate aviation department on corporate shuttle flights for Kimberly-Clark.[5]


The airline slowly grew, adding additional DC-9 aircraft to its fleet, including larger McDonnell Douglas DC-9-30 jets, with a total of 24 by the end of 1996. Eventually, Midwest Express served most major Midwestern and East Coast destinations. Its longtime slogan, "The Best Care in the Air", represented its inflight product.[6] For many years, all flights featured 2-by-2 leather seating (in aircraft usually fitted with 3-2 seating), ample legroom, complimentary gourmet meals, and warm chocolate chip 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.

Fleet[edit]

Fleet at time of closure[edit]

As of November 2009, Frontier Airlines pilots and crew operated five Airbus A319-100 aircraft for Midwest Airlines. All former Midwest Airlines Boeing 717s were retired on November 3, 2009. The majority of Midwest Airlines routes were operated by Midwest Connect through outsourcing, allowing Midwest to advertise and maintain a route system similar to what existed prior to Midwest Air Group's takeover by Texas Pacific Group:[48] The Boeing 717 aircraft were replaced by the Airbus A319 flown by Frontier Airlines and 15 Embraer 190 aircraft flown by Republic Airlines. Ten of these aircraft were purchased from US Airways.[49]


During the merger with Frontier Airlines, it was announced that the Midwest Airlines fleet of Embraers would not be merged into Frontier Airlines' operating certificate; the two types of aircraft would continue to be crewed and operated separately by the two airlines.

Services[edit]

In-flight services[edit]

Until 2002, Midwest Express served gourmet meals on china along with complimentary alcoholic beverages. With the cost-cutting programs instituted following the post-September 11 industry downturn, this was changed to a buy on board food program, "Best Care Cuisine," with breakfast, lunch, and dinner meals available for purchase.[53] Throughout the airline's existence, warm chocolate chip cookies were served on most flights.

Frequent-flyer program[edit]

Midwest Airlines' frequent flyer program was called Midwest Miles. It maintained one airport lounge, the Best Care Club at its Milwaukee hub in the D Concourse, until its closure on May 31, 2012.[54]


While Midwest was not a member of any airline alliance, Midwest Miles were redeemable in the Delta Air Lines SkyMiles program, and vice versa. As of 2006, Northwest route maps showed Midwest as a partner airline and Northwest (now Delta) pulled its non-hub flights out of Milwaukee.


Midwest Miles was unusual in that it had links to the Amtrak program. Midwest Miles members could transfer blocks of 5,000 miles (8,000 km), up to a maximum of 25,000 miles per year to Amtrak's program. Amtrak points could be used for travel on Amtrak and United Airlines (ex Continental Airlines).

On September 6, 1985, crashed shortly after takeoff from Milwaukee, bound for Atlanta. According to the NTSB investigation, the crash was caused by improper control inputs by the pilots when the plane's right engine failed due to stress corrosion cracking. The improper reaction caused the Douglas DC-9 jet aircraft to enter an uncommanded roll and accelerated stall. All 31 people on board died in the airline's sole fatal accident.

Midwest Express Flight 105

On , Midwest Express Flight 7, en route from Milwaukee to New York City, narrowly missed a collision with United Airlines Flight 175 over the Hudson River at approximately 9:01 a.m. local time. The pilot of Midwest 7 maneuvered the aircraft, under the direction of an air traffic controller, out of the flight path of Flight 175. One minute later, Flight 175 hit the South Tower of the World Trade Center, killing all 65 passengers and crew on board and resulting in the collapse of the South Tower.

September 11, 2001

On May 12, 2005, Midwest Airlines Flight 490, a en route from Kansas City to Washington D.C., briefly lost control mid-flight due to icing that was improperly handled by the flight crew. Control was regained and the aircraft made an emergency landing at Kirksville Regional Airport.[55]

Boeing 717

On November 13, 2007, a Midwest Connect flight from bound for Dayton was in a near-collision with a United Express jet heading to Chicago from Greensboro while flying over northern Indiana. Air traffic controllers with Chicago Center directed the Midwest flight to begin its descent while traveling head-on towards the United Express CRJ a few thousand feet below. The planes came as close as 1.3 miles (2.1 km) apart horizontally and 600 feet (180 m) vertically. The Midwest Connect Dornier 328JET was just above the United Express aircraft and descending while they were closing in on each other.[56] An audible TCAS alarm in the Midwest cockpit alerted the pilots of the proximity, allowing them to pull up in time to avert disaster.

Milwaukee

On July 8, 2008, a Midwest charter MD-81 carrying Presidential candidate made an emergency landing at Lambert Field in St. Louis, Missouri, after an evacuation slide inside the plane underneath the tail in the airstair passageway deployed, interfering with the plane's control cables, which affected the control of the pitch of the plane. The pilot radioed the control tower "at this time we would like to declare an emergency and also have CFR [crash equipment] standing by in St. Louis." A preliminary NTSB report said it detected "marks consistent with rubbing of elevator control cables" and a broken railing that "impinged upon elevator control cables."[57] No one was injured. At the time, Obama's main campaign plane – a North American Airlines Boeing 757 on lease by the MatlinPatterson hedge fund firm and owner directors of Global Aero Logistics d.b.a. North American Airlines – was being overhauled. It went back into campaign service on July 20, 2008.[58]

Barack Obama

List of defunct airlines of the United States

(brings up the Republic Airways website)

Former Midwest Airlines website

Proposed 'revived' Midwest Express official website

NTSB accident report of Flight 105