a.net post on Merger
There is a lot of talk in the airliners.net forums about the Merger, i thought this one was pretty good
Quoting DAYflyer (Reply 67):
They claim they want to grow but dont buy the planes, and they have lost money only until very recently. If you ask me it's Midwest thats sucker-punching people in Wisconsin.....
I don't think it is a sucker-punch at all. Midwest is doing what it can when it can and where it can and I don't think there are too many people that are complaining about how horribly Midwest is treating Wisconsin.
Quoting DAYflyer (Reply 70):
I dont understand why FL just doesn't initiate the service from MKE themselves and forget the merger. Midwest is dying a slow death and when the final bell tolls, FL would then be in a position to increase service and move forward.
I think the big argument here is that it just won't work that way. I have seen NW come to MKE with low fares and I have seen them leave it just doesn't seem to work for them. I think FL does a great job in the markets they serve but MKE isn't like the markets they serve. Midwest has a loyal following in Wisconsin and FL does not. If FL were to talk over Midwest I think that you would see the market in MKE open up to the likes of WN and NW. With no loyal airline to stick with anymore it would be open season in MKE and FL would loose at least some of the passengers Midwest already serves simply due to low prices at NW. FL would loose even more passengers because of the overly stubborn people of Wisconsin that would say no to FL just because.
If there was enough demand to warrant the plans of FL in MKE, in my opinion someone some where would have tapped into it. If FL can do then Midwest could too, I don't think they are, not because they can't, but because they know the market very well and they have a good grasp on what the area is calling for. Midwest doesn't want to have a huge Hub in MKE because they are not trying to be a national carrier they are trying to be a midwest carrier. They are opening up the routes that Midwesterners want not the connections that New Yorkers want, because that is not who they are trying to gain as customers.
I think Midwest is one of the few carriers that has a winning model, they aren't trying to be everything for everybody they are trying to be what Midwesterners want and they are trying to make some money doing it. FL doesn't want to acquire midwest because they want to support Milwaukee they are acquiring Midwest because they want a midwest hub to work with and MKE offers the best option, they just don't want to work for it they want to buy it.
This merger is like Fazoli's (a fast-food Italian restaurant) trying to buy Olive Garden. Fazoli's is arguing to the Olive Garden customers that they will offer low prices and more locations. But the people that go to Olive Garden aren't looking for low prices and more locations they are looking for really good Italian. Olive Garden doesn't try to lure in the customers looking for something quick and cheap because it isn't their plan. Midwest isn't trying to lure in customers from all over the country they are trying to please the customers in the midwest. I know some people are going to say what about the saver service. Well it would be like Olive Garden offering take out. It something that Midwest did to offer their customers a profitable option to a lack of service. Midwest could have either offered Saver Service or left the market and Midwest did like it has usually done and did what the customers wanted. Midwest is the Midwest's airline not a national carrier that tries to be everything to everybody. The people supporting the FL merger seem to think that MKE wants to have a national carrier in their town. They don't need a national carrier in their town they have Midwest, an airline that is doing what they need. Midwest knows how to operate in the midwest because that is there plan that is their primary market. Sure they may get some New Yorkers heading to LA but that is just icing on the cake.
I don't think that there are too many routes out of MKE that people desire that are not served. There are only a handful of major cities that are not served out of MKE.