Midwest Airlines Midwest Miles (Pre-Alignment) - Summer schedule changes/equipment swaps

All of the new route announcements coming out of MKE and DEN recently mean there are a number of schedule changes/equipment swaps that need to occur to cover all of the scheduled flying.

Poking around various booking sites the last couple of days has revealed some interesting changes*:


1) MKE-LGA: Frequency reduction from 5 to 4 flights. One flight is up-gauged to an A319. Midwest and AirTran will both offer the same frequency on this route during the summer months. Frankly, I’m very surprised to see this pull-back in one of Midwest’s core markets.
2) MKE-BOS: Increasing to five flights for the summer peak (a normal increase). The number of seats will increase with a mix of 1 A319, 2 E190s, and 2 E170s.
3) MKE-DEN: Increasing to six daily flights with a mix of 3 319s, 2 E90s and one E170.
4) MKE-ATL: Down-gauged from 3 E170s to 1 E170 and 2 ER145s.
5) MKE-LAX: The second daily flight is postponed again until June.
6) MKE-LAS: Reduced to 1 daily afternoon A319 flight.
7) MKE-PHX: Still one daily flight, but re-timed for an early morning departure.
8) MKE-MCO: Only one daily A319 flight for summer peak.
9) MKE-MCI: Frequency unchanged. One E170 flight up-gauged to an E190.
10) MKE-OMA: One of the E170s has been down-gauged.
11) MKE-PIT: 4 ER135s No E145s anymore.
12) MKE-CLE: Flights up-gauged to E145s.
13) MKE-STL: Frequency reduction from 3 to 2 flights. First, the start date is pushed back. Now, before the route even begins frequency is being cut.

All other routes appear to be unaffected. MKE-FLL/RSW, MCI-RSW, and OMA-MCO/TPA all appear to end in April as previously announced.

*The big caveat with the changes listed above is that the schedules may still be in flux so more tweaking may still be done. However, we’re getting to the point where the schedules need to start getting firmed-up for summer bookings.

I must say that as things currently stand I’m less than impressed with what’s happening with Midwest’s MKE flight schedules this summer.

Didn't really bother to figure it out, how many A319's will this put in the Midwest system now? Are they actually doing them any good? I would be interested in knowing how the shuffling around of A319's and E90's have affected revenues on both sides of the swap.

Interesting how (except for MKE-BOS and MKE-DEN), all of the routes that are seeing either reduced capacity or frequency have FL competition.

MKE-CLE is seeing increased service and does not have FL competition (unless you count MKE-CAK).

I'm trying to find the strategy behind these moves. Perhaps they'll be able to maintain a revenue premium and not flood markets with seats. Let AirTran take all the junk fares and connecting traffic.

Am I off base?

I'm trying to find the strategy behind these moves. Perhaps they'll be able to maintain a revenue premium and not flood markets with seats. Let AirTran take all the junk fares and connecting traffic.

Am I off base?

It sure looks like that might be the overall strategy based on what's been scheduled so far.

While there is obviously a lot in transition at the moment, some of these changes appear to reflect general sloppiness on the part of the route planners. How many times have they changed the MKE-LAX/STL flight schedules now? I'm starting to lose track.

Some of these changes were just recently loaded…I wonder how long the waits are at the call center these days :D

Some of the downgrades on West coast flying can probably be chalked up to customers being okay being routed through DEN or MCI. Most of the recent announcements on the DEN side of things have been new routes and more frequencies so perhaps the idea is to make sure MKE can support the current routes profitably before they add any more capacity and open themselves up to a larger potential loss. They probably have a much better idea of what DEN can support since Frontier service has been much more consistent the past few years (compared to Midwest) and if the numbers look like they can support more service they will upgauge.

I saw these changes trickling in over the past two days and hadn’t gotten around to reporting or commenting on them yet. I suspect more changes are coming, but perhaps not until later into spring. What I think these changes primarily represent is covering the schedule with fewer aircraft.
Comments on a few particular markets:

LGA
Republic is using the slots used for Milwaukee’s 5th round trip to cover Denver’s 3rd round trip. By increasing aircraft size in spite of one fewer trip, Midwest’s weekday LGA capacity will increase 7.3% from where it is today, but be 8.0% lower than last year. Not a large swing either way, but a decrease.

STL:
I’m told the main purpose of the RJ in St Louis overnight was for maintenance but that is no longer necessary. I still think they need another mid-day RJ in the market. The local market is large enough for a 3rd flight.

MCO/LAS/PHX
Last year PHX and LAS ran 2x/day with the 717. MCO was 1/x day with a 2nd trip flying from 6/4 through Labor Day.
The E190 is not the ideal aircraft to send on these routes for two reasons. First, they are a limited commodity and are better used in other markets. Second, the economics of the Airbus are closer to competitor 737-700’s they fly against. So they have two options with the A319:
1x/day is 136 seats….31% fewer seats than last summer
2x/day is 272 seats….37% more seats than last summer
Given the entrance of Southwest into these city pairs, increasing capacity by 37% would be questionable. A couple of years ago before Midwest gave market share away they certainly could have flown 2x A319’s here, but the market has changed. 1x/day keeps them in these markets with a good amount of capacity, but not an excessive amount.

ATL/PHL/EWR/MSN
The move of E170’s to replace Q400’s in Denver is putting pressure on these routes which could support more capacity than what they are planned to see this spring. The move to put two RJ’s into ATL (along with one E170) is something of a surprise, but fare pressure in ATL is not as bad as it once was. Frankly, that’s AirTran’s doing – they apparently view ATL as a mature market from Milwaukee and don’t frequently price cut there nearly as much as some other markets.

LAX
The shortage of aircraft means that the LAX red-eye moves from a 7:30pm to a less-desirable 10:00pm departure. While a 7:30pm flight is a decent departure time, a 10:00pm red-eye really only works at peak times. Until and unless they move that to a better time, it probably doesn’t pay to fly it until summer vacations start and on peak days.

-----------------

What I suspect is happening is that their near-term fleet plans are a moving target, and every change results in modifications to the schedule. Beyond the scheduled deliveries they have spoken of, there are continued rumors of them dealing for more aircraft of various sizes, from RJ up to A321. But any hitch…either with scheduled deliveries or with acquiring additional e-jet or Airbus planes… means a smaller and/or different set of aircraft to cover their planned service, and thus the schedule changes.
I’m not a fan of the April/May schedule changes as they appear, and I wonder if they based some of their earlier expansion announcements on aircraft deliveries which will be delayed. Just one or two additional aircraft at MKE will make a big difference. The mid-June schedule, as it currently appears, doesn’t “work out” in terms of aircraft flow, so more changes are coming. I’m hearing three additional city pairs are planned for the YX system in the May/June timeframe, but it seems likely that would take another plane or so.

The changeability in the schedule these days does not do them any favors, and the sooner the dust settles the better.

LGA
Republic is using the slots used for Milwaukee’s 5th round trip to cover Denver’s 3rd round trip. By increasing aircraft size in spite of one fewer trip, Midwest’s weekday LGA capacity will increase 7.3% from where it is today, but be 8.0% lower than last year. Not a large swing either way, but a decrease.



The situation with LGA is rather curious. Well before Republic came into the picture, Frontier routinely flew DEN-LGA 3x daily during the peak summer months. In addition, Midwest's reductions on MCI-LGA (from five flights to three flights) should have made enough slots available to cover all of this flying. What happened to all of those slots?

LGA is a business market. If anything, that route should be 5x daily E190s due to the availability of Signature Seating (I'm told a real effort is being made to keep the ex U.S. Airways E190s in MKE due to the first class cabin...very similar to the old Signature Seats).

As it relaters to the schedules, MKE-SFO now becomes a red-eye starting in April.

Also, the sixth MKE-DEN frequency has been pushed back to June. It was announced just last week that it would start in May.

ATL/PHL/EWR/MSN
The move of E170’s to replace Q400’s in Denver is putting pressure on these routes which could support more capacity than what they are planned to see this spring. The move to put two RJ’s into ATL (along with one E170) is something of a surprise, but fare pressure in ATL is not as bad as it once was. Frankly, that’s AirTran’s doing – they apparently view ATL as a mature market from Milwaukee and don’t frequently price cut there nearly as much as some other markets.

You're right on regarding MKE-ATL pricing. I'm flying that route next week, and AirTran's fares to ATL have been considerably higher than the west coast runs, despite the major difference in distance. (Not that airlines price fares based strictly on distance of course).

Roundtrip fares to ATL frequently are in the $250-300 range, while west coast runs are as low as $94 each way from MKE.

I have 3 confirmed reservations MKE-MCO, MKE-LAS, MKE-SAN for April and May. They all changed! Wait time is "over one hour" on the 800 number. Especially bad because I'm traveling with other friends and family to LAS and SAN and I was in charge of booking the flights! It's really going to be a hassle re-coordinating everyone's schedules.

They all changed! Wait time is "over one hour" on the 800 number.

Completely unacceptable. We keep hearing things are going to improve. I have seen no improvement since the 2008 cutbacks.

Completely unacceptable. We keep hearing things are going to improve. I have seen no improvement since the 2008 cutbacks.

This really depends on what you believe is improvement:
- Have routes been reintroduced from MKE and new one's completely introduced in DEN? --- Yes, I believe that is an improvement over the product that was seen in 2008.
- Is the company more stable (financially)? --- I think this is a no doubt and that is definite improvement for both passengers and employees
- Has the cross pollination of the Frontier fleet into Midwest routes been good for Midwest? --- I think so, it has allowed Midwest to operate more efficient aircraft on certain routes and introduce their customers to amenities not seen on a Midwest plane before...The question here is whether Republic has damaged Frontier by introducing E190's and E170's into Frontier's route structure that do not have these amenities.

I am sure there is more to talk about and there are things that have not improved, but to make the statement that nothing has improved is not necessarily correct either.

They have restored or added 10 nonstop destinations (CWA would make 11) since the depths of September 2008, and I'm hearing there are a few more to come. That's improvement.

The new schedule has nearly all of the 20 minutes connections removed, and the number of 25-minute connections is reduced significantly. The vast majority of connections are scheduled at 30 minutes or more.

This should help reduce the number of hold / no hold situations.

The new schedule has nearly all of the 20 minutes connections removed, and the number of 25-minute connections is reduced significantly. The vast majority of connections are scheduled at 30 minutes or more.

This should help reduce the number of hold / no hold situations.

Knope, do you work for Midwest or Republic?

Knope, do you work for Midwest or Republic?

Neither...not in the industry at all. I do travel quite a bit for work, however, and have been Midwest Miles Executive level for years.

Neither...not in the industry at all. I do travel quite a bit for work, however, and have been Midwest Miles Executive level for years.

So where do you get your information on fleet apportionment? Inside (or public) source or good detective work?

This really depends on what you believe is improvement:

I am sure there is more to talk about and there are things that have not improved, but to make the statement that nothing has improved is not necessarily correct either.

My reference was regarding call center wait times. Sometimes, I think there are two people working in the call center.

My reference was regarding call center wait times. Sometimes, I think there are two people working in the call center.

I was just down there today talking to them and looking at their call statistics. Right now during a big schedule change they're seeing an average wait time of 30 minutes and the average call abandonment is at 4 minutes. Even though they may be understaffed for a major schedule change they are staffed appropriately for an average day.

So where do you get your information on fleet apportionment? Inside (or public) source or good detective work?

Some of everything. I do have a few acquaintences on the inside who now and then let me in on things -- although that's not necessarily always accurate. I sometimes have access to employee communications, too. Some people who post on other boards tend to have reliable information (certainly not all). And I watch stuff as closely as I can. For example when the "flow" of a schedule doesn't work out, that's clearly a sign that there are more schedule changes coming. A lot of my information, opinions, and beliefs come from trying to piece everything together. And note that a lot of what I post has qualifiers like "it appears that", "most likely", or "I suspect that".

Some of everything. I do have a few acquaintences on the inside who now and then let me in on things -- although that's not necessarily always accurate. I sometimes have access to employee communications, too. Some people who post on other boards tend to have reliable information (certainly not all). And I watch stuff as closely as I can. For example when the "flow" of a schedule doesn't work out, that's clearly a sign that there are more schedule changes coming. A lot of my information, opinions, and beliefs come from trying to piece everything together. And note that a lot of what I post has qualifiers like "it appears that", "most likely", or "I suspect that".

Everyone in marketing still thinks that you work here somewhere, but we can't seem to pin you down. :D

Everyone in marketing still thinks that you work here somewhere, but we can't seem to pin you down. :D

To bad Knope didnt go to the "Signature Seat" sale at the maintenance hangar and meet everyone and dispel the myth....or did he? :)

To bad Knope didnt go to the "Signature Seat" sale at the maintenance hangar and meet everyone and dispel the myth....or did he? :)

Maybe SHE did. We may never know. IIRC he/she did make an appearance at the June "do", held at the maintenance hangar.

Blue organized the event,, so he would be able to confirm the identity.

Maybe SHE did. We may never know. IIRC he/she did make an appearance at the June "do", held at the maintenance hangar.

Blue organized the event,, so he would be able to confirm the identity.

You guys are too funny!

I can confirm that knope2001 does not work for Midwest/Republic or the airline industry in any capacity. That's all you're going to get from me :D

Maybe SHE did. We may never know. IIRC he/she did make an appearance at the June "do", held at the maintenance hangar.

Blue organized the event,, so he would be able to confirm the identity.

I have met knope on two different occasions (including the do last year) and he does not work for Midwest. He's a nice guy and follows the industry (and this airline) closely. I, for one, appreciate that he contributes to this board. It helps many of us have a better understanding of what's going on.

Thanks for the kind words, you guys. I am male and work at a financial services technology company in the Milwaukee area. And I wasn't able to come to either seat sale event, so for those of you who were there, I'm not any of the faces you might have seen.

In normal circumstances I probably couldn't have passed up the opportunity to buy at least a pair of seats. But my family is in the later stages of cleaning out our parents' former house, and this is so not the time for me to be acquiring any new stuff and dragging it home.

Everyone in marketing still thinks that you work here somewhere, but we can't seem to pin you down. :D

He was at the last "Do" for awhile before running to catch a plane!

I too appreciate his insight and knowledge.

He was at the last "Do" for awhile before running to catch a plane!

That's right -- you guys got food & stuff, and I got to hop a plane for Cleveland. So it goes...

If not for Knope's many insightful posts, there would be nothing to talk about on this board.

Maybe Mostly Air will be able to attend the next do, then he can tell the marketing guys that Knope is not an employee.

If not for Knope's many insightful posts, there would be nothing to talk about on this board.

+1

Knope's posts are always very informative and thoughtful and show a real passion for this industry.

I was just down there today talking to them and looking at their call statistics. Right now during a big schedule change they're seeing an average wait time of 30 minutes and the average call abandonment is at 4 minutes. Even though they may be understaffed for a major schedule change they are staffed appropriately for an average day.

I've really got to disagree, once again. I called today, 1PM, normal day, I waited 20 minutes to talk to an agent. AirTran normally answers in under 10.

20 minutes is unacceptable, I tried to upgrade to STRETCH for a future award flight on the A319. She told me "that aircraft is not yet set up with STRETCH".

I am assuming her seat map hasn't been updated to reflect STRETCH yet. When can we expect to see updated STRETCH seat maps? Maybe then, I can upgrade online without having to wait 20 minutes.

I've really got to disagree, once again. I called today, 1PM, normal day, I waited 20 minutes to talk to an agent. AirTran normally answers in under 10.

20 minutes is unacceptable, I tried to upgrade to STRETCH for a future award flight on the A319. She told me "that aircraft is not yet set up with STRETCH".

I am assuming her seat map hasn't been updated to reflect STRETCH yet. When can we expect to see updated STRETCH seat maps? Maybe then, I can upgrade online without having to wait 20 minutes.

I know people who have waited 20+ minutes to speak with an AirTran rep, and then finally decided to give up.

When I have a web-related issue, calling in to web support provides a much faster response than trying to get through to a multi-tasking CSR.

Web Support 800-452-2022, option 1, then option 5

I know people who have waited 20+ minutes to speak with an AirTran rep, and then finally decided to give up.


I'm sure we have all had long waits with various airlines.

However, I get consistently long waits at YX, Mostly Air contends they are adequately staffed for a normal day.

Today was a normal day, wait time was still 20 minutes. That's just plain bad customer service.

I'm sure we have all had long waits with various airlines.

However, I get consistently long waits at YX, Mostly Air contends they are adequately staffed for a normal day.

Today was a normal day, wait time was still 20 minutes. That's just plain bad customer service.

I understand how frustrating long holds can be; I've been through many, myself.

At this point, I don't think YX believes that a 20 minute wait is a long time, but it clearly is not acceptable if happening on a regular basis. Hopefully, things will be improving with additions at the call center.

My surefire method of reaching a YX CSR with no hold time? Call at about 4:00 AM Central Time; you get though immediately and are not rushed through the call. I've had good luck, whenever I've tried. :D

My surefire method of reaching a YX CSR with no hold time? Call at about 4:00 AM Central Time; you get though immediately and are not rushed through the call. I've had good luck, whenever I've tried. :D

:D:D 4:00 AM, only in your dreams and in my sleep.

:D:D 4:00 AM, only in your dreams and in my sleep.

Actually, it was only 5:00 AM, as I was in the eastern time zone. :D

Unfortunately, this is really true.