Blame It On Fuel Prices

No one would dispute the price of doing business is getting more and more expensive for US carriers... and Midwest Airlines has felt the pinch. Reports surfaced Thursday the airline is dropping some pilot jobs, and cancelling several routes.

Some of those cancellations will only be temporary, reports WTMJ-4, so the carrier can inspect its 13-plane fleet of MD-80 airliners for the same kinds of issues that have stymied American Airlines this week. But others will be permanent, as the carrier struggles to stay in the black when the world around it goes deeper in the red.

Midwest spokesman Mike Brophy wouldn't confirm the reported cuts to its pilot ranks, though pilots at the airline say they started seeing e-mail notices about looming layoffs Wednesday night.

The high price of oil is likely to blame, which has cost the airline industry billions of dollars at a time the market is also struggling to adapt to a slumping US economy.

As ANN reported, a team comprised of Northwest Airlines and a Texas-based private equity firm purchased Midwest last year. That deal was formally approved by regulators February 1.

FMI: www.midwestairlines.com