Midwest Express will officially fly again by 2020, bringing new flights to Milwaukee, Omaha, Neb., Cincinnati and Grand Rapids.
The airline officially rolled out one of its first branded aircraft Aug. 28, during an event at Milwaukee General Mitchell International Airport (MKE). While the first date of new flights hasn’t been announced yet, officials said they anticipate service to start in early 2020.
“There are companies that need the service that we’re going to provide,” Greg Aretakis, president of Midwest Express Airlines said.
Midwest Express was noted for its customer service and in-flight amenities like freshly baked cookies before it was acquired by Republic Airways and eventually merged into Frontier Airlines. The last Midwest flight took place in 2009.
Aretakis said Midwest was always a partnership between the city of Milwaukee and its business communities. The initial destinations were chosen from the needs of businesses in the region and where they need to go.
“We are working with Midwest Express on the details of their service to Milwaukee, said Mindy Kershner, senior manager, communications & community affairs for the Cincinnati/Northern Kentucky International Airport. “Milwaukee is an important market for CVG and would be our 56th nonstop destination. We look forward to this additional service.”
Midwest announced an agreement with Elite Airways in August to operate flights for the company as it rolls out service from Milwaukee. Midwest Express is in the process of establishing its flight booking system and will be hiring key staff positions.
Through the partnership with Elite Airways, flight operations will be provided by Elite. In addition, Elite Airways will support Midwest’s efforts to pursue regulatory and operational requirements necessary for Midwest to obtain its own airline operating certificate and aircraft.
John Pearsall, president of Elite, said it’s going to be a great partnership for the two companies.
“When Greg first approaches us about working together, we looked at everything and we thought, what an incredible match this would be,” Pearsall said. “With a customer service philosophy that Elite Airways has coupled with the fabulous expertise at Midwest Express and what they did with the community in the past has just been believable.
Midwest will be a business airline with flights primarily taking place during the work week, with some weekend flying. The fleet will use 50-seat Bombardier CRJ aircraft.
“Providing non-stop flights to key business destinations fills an important niche, and we couldn’t be happier to welcome Midwest Express back home,” said Milwaukee County Executive Chris Abele in a press release. “We are all excited that travelers can now access these important midwestern markets nonstop from our hometown airport of MKE.”
Tara Hernandez, marketing and communications director for the Gerald R. Ford International Airport Authority, said Milwaukee is a route that has been on the airport’s minds for quite some time. She said the business community in Western Michigan is invested in this service as Milwaukee is a great business market for the region.
“Greg Aretakis and his team at Midwest have done a great job of getting people excited,” she said. “They’re bringing back that same brand of Midwest, the classiness and of course the chocolate chip cookies.”
Aretakis said customers still need the service to those communities, but since the airline went away, they’re now driving.
“We need to give them back the level of the service that they used to use regularly,” he said.
Brian Dranzik, airport director for MKE, said the airport is still working though the amount of gate space Midwest will occupy at the airport. The airport has both ground and bridge boarding gates available to accommodate the needs of the airline.
“We’ve got the capacity to handle them,” he said. “We’ve got some available gates and I think they’ll fit in well with the ones we have available.”
Dranzik said he doesn’t expect the new service to impact legacy carriers or ULCC airlines at MKE given the unique market Midwest is expected to fill with the service.
“It’s the markets that are the four to six to eight hour driving market," he said. "That’s a little far to drive, but by flight you can get there and back in a day."
Aretakis said the big things customers are looking for are convenience. They want flight times that are not early in the morning or late night and allow for them to go for one day.
“Convenience was the first thing. The great customer service that Midwest was famous for was the second thing. “And frankly, a lot of people said I really missed the cookie and the cookie was the symbol of the first two.”
While the original Midwest Express also had a sizeable hub at Kansas City International Airport (MCI), Aretakis said there are no plans to initially grow air service at that facility.
“This is a Milwaukee business,” he said.
