AirTran to disclose 11 new departures on Tuesday

By Tom Daykin of the Journal Sentinel
Posted: Feb. 9, 2009 116 a.m.
AirTran Holdings Inc. (AAI) will announce details Tuesday of its plans to add 11 more daily departures from Milwaukee's Mitchell International Airport, the company said today.
AirTran's current schedule has 19 daily departures from Milwaukee to nine cities. The increase to 30 daily departures will come this summer, during the peak travel season.
Orlando, Fla.-based AirTran considers Milwaukee one of its strongest potential growth markets, in part because of last fall's 40% national schedule cutback by Oak Creek-based Midwest Airlines Inc.
Midwest is still Mitchell's largest carrier, flying 93 daily departures to 29 cities. But Midwest's market share at Mitchell, for many years at around 50%, was at 38% in December. AirTran, the No. 3 carrier at Mitchell, had 18% share.
AirTran on Tuesday also will announce a job fair for new Milwaukee positions, and a new partnership with YMCA of Metropolitan Milwaukee.

 

In related news, AirTran would like to express their gratitude to Northwest Airlines for saving them $290,000,000.00 and the embarrassment of insolvency over the summer of 2008.

 

Didn't AirTran try this already? I'm pretty sure it didn't work out so well the 1st time.

 

I like the agreement we(AirTran) just signed with the Brewers too....I think we'll be full all summer out of MKE.

 

Depends. But I think you are correct.

 

The harder you try, the luckier you get!

 

I would say the competetive landscape has changed significantly since then, wouldn't you?

 

Very true, very true.

 

Yes, I see MKE as another battle ground between AAI and DAL. Maybe WN will come in there too!

 

I can't help but think about all those furloughed Midwest pilots who probably would have had jobs right now had the Airtran/Midwest merger actually happened. Oh well. We all knew that Airtran was going to make grow in MKE. Midwest just made sure they were not a part of it.