Originally Posted by
hazelrah
With respect to MKE->DCA, I respectfully disagree;no strong case can be made for an additional YX slot. Particularly since Midwest is abandoning signature seating, won't they be adding capacity on all of their 717s? The only reason they would need another slot for this route would be anti-competitive.
Midwest is not completely abandoning Signature Service. The 717s will still have 40 of the 2x2 seats. When the planes are re-configured next year, an additional 11 seats will be added to each aircraft.
The application for additional MKE and/or MCI service isn't necessarily an anti-competitive response. Midwest has been trying to secure additional slots for DCA service for several years now. The problem is slots are hard to come by and very expensive (assuming they could find another carrier willing to sell or lease slots). As you know, Midwest earlier this year applied for a pair of slots in order to add a 5th MKE-DCA trip. Why? Because DCA is a critical market for Midwest and the loads/yields are there to justify another flight.
You could have made the same argument about MKE-LGA service as well. Yet, Midwest was able to obtain slots for additional flights to MKE and MCI and they haven't struggled to fill the planes, despite the added capacity.
All of this was happening before AirTran acquired its extra gate space in Milwaukee and hinted at additional expansion. Whether Midwest or AirTran get the award, there is room for more capacaity between MKE-DCA.