<font face="Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif" size="2">Originally posted by IndustrialPatent:
I doubt NW has any intentions of building a hub at MKE (otherwise they wouldn’t be continuing their downsizing of DTW and using A319/A320 equipment at MKE). I think they’re trying to take advantage of an underserved O/D market, more-or-less creating a “focus city.” It appears to be a well-orchestrated operation… not only does NW stand to gain revenue from an underserved market, they get an opportunity to kill off Midwest Airlines (which appears to be converting into a full-service airline).</font>
I agree. They smell blood in the cookie batter and by doing this for a while, they can resolidify their position with MKE customers rather than having them split up between all the other midwestern hubs. A few months after Midwest vanishes and the elites are accustomed to earning their WorldPerks, these new nonstops may go as well. Along the way they might add another turn to some of these cities.
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...or passengers swim.