Midwest to ground all MD80's by the fall [MERGED]

[Inkmahm]

ALL my flights are changed/gone. That's fine for December where I have already booked my backup flights on Airtran. Now I have to figure out how to get there in October. The article posted above doesn't say anything about helping us get flights on other airlines!

It also does NOT work to go go the Midwest site and try to change your reservations online. It tells you that there has been a change and you need to call them!

Phones open at 8 am central (I already tried to call...)

On your mark, get set, GO!

Good luck saving your vacations, everyone... Pixie dust to us all.

 

[snels]

Wausau is definitely gone. I guess we will ask for a refund. I am not going to drive for 4 1/2 hrs to get to a Midwest served airport.

 

[Emmabean2000]

OK, I am a bit confused. We have two flights in January, which as I read the announcement on their web page indicates that Midwest will continue to fly there. Of course, when I try to see the flight online, the directs to Orlando are gone, and only one return exists. But the timetable they provide the link to still has the flights. Did they post a wrong timetable???

 

[Emmabean2000]

Phones open at 8 am central (I already tried to call...)

.

Would not one think that due to the high volume of changes, they would have adjusted thier phone hours? And you thought making a reservation at CRT was tough. A Dole Whip to the first person that gets in this AM!

 

[bicker]

Remember, the changes are due to financial distress. Increasing their telephone service hours will increase expense, something that would add to financial distress, not help relieve it.

 

[Inkmahm]

I decided not to bother with calling Midwest at this minute to get refunds for all my trips. I already had the backup Air Tran flights booked for December so that refund is a bonus for me... I had written off the cost as necessary to make sure we had seats to get to Florida for a family trip.

I just booked seats for us (DH and me) on AirTran for our October trip, too. They cost about $175 more than I paid (in total) for Midwest originally but I also have booked us sitting in the exit rows so $80 of that was self imposed seat fees.

So, I now have flights taken care of for all currently planned Disney trips and I need refunds for 7 tickets between the Oct and Dec changes. I'll probably STILL keep checking my Air Tran flights (now booked with them for Oct, Dec and next March) as they seem to have a reputation for changing their schedule, too.

The new flights on AirTran are NOT as convenient as the ones I had booked on Midwest. I will miss flying Midwest to Florida, I have to say. Their new schedule does not work for me.

 

[Inkmahm]

Remember, the changes are due to financial distress. Increasing their telephone service hours will increase expense, something that would add to financial distress, not help relieve it.

I"m betting they are not at all in a hurry to give us our refunds, either.

 

[Emmabean2000]

Remember, the changes are due to financial distress. Increasing their telephone service hours will increase expense, something that would add to financial distress, not help relieve it.

I don't think adding a few hours to the phone bank would be the last straw to drive Midwest to bankruptcy. I know that they have financial distress, but I would also think that reving up their customer service might offset some of the financial issues and put them back on pace with the level of service they used to provide, which got us all hooked on them in the first place.

 

[Inkmahm]

I"m on hold with Midwest- their regular reservation number works now!

 

[McKelly]

What a way to start a day, huh? Well, it sounds like flights to Orlando will still exist come December, but it says I have to still call them, so, we shall see what that means............

Excuse my ignorance, but what is code-sharing mean actually? Just that you will have a connection which will include changing planes and then flying Northwest? Are you able to use your Midwest Miles for the whole leg of the trip then?

 

[Inkmahm]

As you've likely heard or read, Midwest Airlines is in the process of restructuring to adapt to extraordinarily high fuel prices. One key part of these efforts is making difficult but necessary changes to our flight schedule. The information below outlines these changes and lets you know what to do if you think your flight might be impacted.

What Does Not Change
We will remain true to our mission of serving major business destinations with the best schedule and more nonstop flights from Milwaukee than any other airline.

The following destinations remain part of the Midwest Airlines core route structure: Atlanta
Boston
Dallas/Ft. Worth
Denver
Kansas City
Las Vegas
Los Angeles
Minneapolis/St. Paul
New York La Guardia
Omaha
Orlando
Philadelphia
Phoenix
San Francisco
Seattle/Tacoma
Tampa
Washington, D.C.
Retained Midwest Connect Markets Appleton
Cleveland
Columbus
Dayton
Des Moines
New York Newark
Flint Green Bay
Grand Rapids
Indianapolis
Madison
Minneapolis/St. Paul
Nashville
Omaha
Philadelphia

Cities We Will No Longer Serve
Midwest Airlines
Ft. Lauderdale
Ft. Myers
San Diego Midwest Connect
Baltimore
Hartford
Louisville
Muskegon
Raleigh/Durham
St. Louis
San Antonio
Wausau/Stevens Point
Other Changes of Note

Routes to the West Coast
With our MD-80s being taken out of service, flights to Los Angeles, San Francisco and Seattle/Tacoma will be operated on Boeing 717 aircraft via Kansas City. Flights from Milwaukee to Denver, Las Vegas and Phoenix will be nonstop on a Boeing 717.
Kansas City Changes
We will continue to serve the following destinations nonstop from Kansas City:
Boston
Los Angeles
Milwaukee
New York LaGuardia
San Francisco
Seattle/Tacoma
Washington, D.C.
Florida
Longer flights to leisure market destinations are difficult to justify economically for Midwest and the rest of the industry. We realize that this will create complications for our customers with existing and future vacation plans for Florida.
Tampa will be the only Florida city we will serve on a year-round basis. Flights will be operated on Boeing 717 aircraft. We will continue nonstop service between Milwaukee and Orlando, but only seasonally. During the transition, we will suspend service Sept. 8 through Oct. 20, and then resume it Oct. 21, 2008 through April 30, 2009.
For a complete look at schedules and frequencies, visit midwestairlines.com and click on Timetable under the Travel Tools section on the home page.
What Should You Do Now?
If you booked your flight through midwestairlines.com or our Reservations center, you will receive a notification from us regarding flight changes.
If you booked through a travel agency or online service such as Orbitz, Travelocity or Expedia, the agent or online service will contact you.
If you are holding a ticket for flights to any of the cities being discontinued or routes where frequency has been reduced, we encourage you to click here to view your reservation and request a full refund. For travel agency-issued tickets customers must have their ticket number or Midwest airlines six-letter confirmation code available.
If customers need to contact us regarding the schedule changes, we request that they call our Reservations center directly at 866-613-1390 and not call our corporate offices. We thank you in advance for your patience when calling, as we're helping a significant number of customers with similar requests.
Reaccomodation Options
If your flight has been affected by the schedule changes, you will have the following options:
Rebook on a different Midwest Airlines flight, if possible.
Rebook on another airline, if possible (requires you to call the Reservations center).
Use the value of your ticket to purchase a ticket to a different Midwest Airlines destination.
Receive a full refund.

Notice that it says an option is to rebook on another airline, if possible. Personally, I have no faith in Midwest anymore. I feel better knowing that I booked myself on Air Tran this morning rather than wait to ask Midwest to do it for our October trip, even if it was more $. All those other people who were booked on Midwest are also going to be hunting for flights to replace those they lost. At least I know now that I have seats.

 

[brandylouwho]

my fligths are gone for Dec and their once daily to MCO isn't flying on my dates either...would need to leave 2 days ealry and return one day later (which would be something I'd consider if that return date wasn't Christmas Day)


Got an hour yet before I can call (& sit on hold)...

 

[Emmabean2000]

Excuse my ignorance, but what is code-sharing mean actually? Just that you will have a connection which will include changing planes and then flying Northwest? Are you able to use your Midwest Miles for the whole leg of the trip then?

As far as I can tell, you are correct. With code sharing, you should be able to fly on another leg of another code sharing agreed airline. For examle, my wife and I are flying to Hawaii using Northwest frequent flier miles, but the total flight is on Continental Airlines, thanks to thier code share agreement.

 

[Inkmahm]

my fligths are gone for Dec and their once daily to MCO isn't flying on my dates either...would need to leave 2 days ealry and return one day later (which would be something I'd consider if that return date wasn't Christmas Day)


Got an hour yet before I can call (& sit on hold)...

Call the regular reservation number and go through the various voicemail options to get to reservations changes now... I'm still on hold.

 

[bicker]

I"m betting they are not at all in a hurry to give us our refunds, either.

The difference is that their original agreement with you provided for refunds, in certain contexts. Beyond that, changing their internal refund policies, now, would almost surely garner more (bad) PR than having to wait to call for reservation changes.

I don't think adding a few hours to the phone bank would be the last straw to drive Midwest to bankruptcy.

Every expense contributes to financial distress, no matter how small. The object isn't to avoid "the last straw" but to avoid as many of the "straws" before the last one as they possibly can!

I know that they have financial distress, but I would also think that reving up their customer service might offset some of the financial issues and put them back on pace with the level of service they used to provide, which got us all hooked on them in the first place.

Probably not: Customers aren't loyal like that. Maybe their original perspective in that regard was one of the causes of their current predicament. Could be. I remember back when the Malcolm Baldrige National Quality Award was first established, one of the first winners was considered a paragon of such values, and proceeded to go into bankruptcy a year or two later. Their blind faith in the "loyalty" of their customers was their undoing. That experience taught all of us in the customer satisfaction biz, at that time, that everything needs proof of cost/benefit, or it shouldn't be undertaken. I doubt that the folks still in that biz today have forgotten the lessons their predecessors learned the hard way. We taught them better than that, I hope.

 

[cbjl]

Our flights for Nov & Jan are gone - at least they dont show up when I look at my account.
Tried using their link to request a refund online & it said to call instead.
ARGHHHH
On hold with reservations now, too.

good luck everyone

 

[Inkmahm]

Their "on hold" spiel is still bragging about their service to Fort Myers, San Diego and more"

You'd think someone would have realized how stupid that sounds at this point and fixed the phone message....

 

[bicker]

I wouldn't be surprised to have that spiel remain for another week or two. If they pay someone to regularly listen to their own on-hold message, given their financial situation, then they deserve to go under. And the CSRs are almost surely not paid enough to care enough to go through the chain of command to report the issue. Best bet is for the CEO's wife (Jan) to call in and hear it and report it to her husband!

 

[cbjl]

Probably not: Customers aren't loyal like that. Maybe their original perspective in that regard was one of the causes of their current predicament.

I'm guessing you never flew Midwest. It used to be so much different than the rest that people regularly drove up from Chicago to enjoy their service. The reason many people were against the AirTran (*attempted) takeover was because they were worried about a loss in customer service specifically.
They used to be a great company, and that's what makes the way they are handling things now very, very surprising.

 

[crzykid]

I am on hold - wait time will exceed 20 mins. I hope after waiting this long that they can help me and dont have to wait for the schedule change desk.