AirTran Says It Is "Flattered" By Apparent Imitation

Low-cost carrier AirTran -- currently locked in a seemingly-neverending takeover bid for competitor Midwest Airlines -- said this week it was "flattered" by Midwest's plan to move to a two-class seating configuration on all its planes.

Midwest announced this week it will reconfigure seating options on its current fleet of MD-80s and Boeing 717s.

Strictly speaking, the airline already offers two seating options. Midwest's 717 jets are equipped with 88 "Signature" seats in a two-by-two configuration, while its older MD-80s have 147 "Saver" seats. As the name implies, those seats are narrower than the wider Signature seats, and are arranged in the standard McDonnell-Douglas two-by-three economy configuration.

Under the new plan, Midwest will offer both options on all its planes. By this fall, Midwest plans to have 12 Signature seats and 132 Saver seats on its MD-80s, according to Forbes. The newer 717s -- which cater to business travelers, as opposed to long-haul flights flown by the MD-80s -- will sport 40 Signature seats and 59 Savers by mid-2008. The change is an attempt to increase capacity, and raise additional revenue.

AirTran Chairman and CEO notes the proposed configuration is the same approach his airline has employed for 10 years. AirTran offers 12 Business Class seats at the front of its 717s and 737s, with coach-class seating behind.

"At AirTran Airways, we've always believed in offering our customers choice," said Leonard. "Midwest's announcement today is an endorsement of AirTran Airways' business model, but without the efficiencies, cost structure or market strength of a larger, more dynamic route network."

Did you notice the not-so-subtle knife-twisting towards the end? That's because AirTran has aggressively pursued a merger with Midwest Air Group since December 2006 -- an offer Midwest has steadfastly refused, though there are signs shareholders are interested in hearing more about AirTran's most recent offer.

Having already inserted the knife, Leonard proceeded to twist it further.

"Furthermore, Midwest has a poor track record of execution and forecasting their financial results; less than 90 days into the year, they warned investors that they were going to be off their projected earnings for 2007, and today were again unable to confirm guidance for 2007," Leonard added in comments made Tuesday. "It is time to get a deal done."

Midwest CEO Timothy Hoeksema told the Atlanta Journal-Constitution the airline's board remains opposed to any merger with AirTran.

"Our board continues to believe the [AirTran] offer is less than the value of our strategic plan going forward," he said. "This gives some insight into our enhanced value going forward."

Nevermind that. Our only question is, no matter how many seats or whatever name is on its planes... will Midwest continue to offer its chocolate-chip cookies?

FMI: www.airtran.com, www.midwestairlines.com