B-717 Operations Will Cease In A Month, Aircraft Returned To Boeing

Midwest Airlines pilots were informed this week that the operations of Midwest Airlines as we know it today will cease on November 3, 2009. On that day, the last of Midwest Airlines’ larger Boeing 717 aircraft will be returned to the manufacturer and all of the remaining Midwest pilots will no longer fly any Midwest aircraft. Captain Anthony Freitas, chairman of the Midwest Airlines unit of the Air Line Pilots Association, Int’l (ALPA), issued the following statement reacting to the news:

“While there will still be airplanes flying with ‘Midwest’ written on them, there will no longer be any of the pilots who truly provided ‘The Best Care in the Air’ operating them. All of the original Midwest flight crews are being outsourced in the final phase of dismantling our airline.

“Midwest’s new owner hopes that if they keep the same paint scheme and cookies, no one will notice that the crews who helped build our airline’s well-deserved reputation for award-winning customer service are gone. Clearly, the replacement of highly experienced Midwest pilots with lower-cost labor will be devastating for our pilots and their families. But the traveling public will also be affected because they will lose the high experience levels and the extraordinary dedication to service that the real Midwest pilots have always taken great pride in providing.”

FMI: www.alpa.org, www.midwest