One of the greatest tragedies in the credit crunch has been to watching the slow decline of Midwest Airlines. They were one of the few carriers where I never thought about the price when booking, and just knew that it was going to be a pleasure. With their normal 2-2 seating on a 717 or MD-80, (now called Signature Seating and sold for a premium) from the warm cookies it was just a pleasure to fly with this team.

Then things started to go south, very quickly.  A management change, and a signifigant amount of outside investment changed the face of the once interesting carrier from Milwaukee.

We got a copy of the employee letter that was sent out yesterday from the CEO: and we thought we would share it with you:

Here is a copy of a letter from Tim to the employees.

To: All Midwest and Skyway Employees
Date: May 21, 2009
From: T.E. Hoeksema
Subject: New Addition to Our Fleet

I am very pleased to share the news that we are expanding our air services agreement with Republic Airlines to include the addition of two new Embraer 190AR jets. The E190s will be configured to seat 100 passengers in a single cabin with seating choice that includes 20 Signature seats. We will introduce the new service in August and September, and announce new routes and schedules in the near future.

The addition of the E190s to our current fleet will provide us new flexibility in terms of our route network and range, with the potential to once again fly nonstop to the West Coast from our Milwaukee hub. Our expanded agreement with Republic allows us to leverage the cost efficiencies of a large regional airline, while providing our customers with service to more destinations.

With the start of service, Republic Airways will become the first regional airline operator to fly the E190s, which combine a big jet feel and impressive performance with economically and environmentally friendly operating efficiencies. The jets offer outstanding onboard comfort and I’m confident they will be an excellent addition to our fleet, and a valuable asset in supporting the expansion of the Midwest brand to new routes.

The aircraft are a component of a comprehensive fleet plan that we are in the process of finalizing and will announce in the near future.

We hope to have an E190 available for employee tours sometime this summer.

We’ll also let you know just as soon as the new routes are announced.

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