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

[DisOrBust]

I have drivien and it isn't the worse but we are traveling this trip with my MIL. That would make the drive lethal. You would be reading about me in the papers.

 

[leeann32]

So sorry Leann , we had the same flights as you did (I spoke to you via PM). I cant bring myself to book on anything, my trust and faith in airlines is pretty much gone. I get to have fun with driving and gas prices!!

I am keeping my fingers crossed that AirTran doesn't cancel our flights

 

[DisBoosh]

I'd be interested if ANYONE is actually booked on a different airline. Maybe Northwest has a chance, but I just don't see Midwest offering up tickets on AirTran. They definitely push giving the refund.

I finally got through after trying all morning/afternoon. They immediately pushed for the refund, but I said that we could go on different dates. She then reluctantly gave me the out & return times for April '09. So, our trip in May is now re-booked for April, as we did not want refunds because we are using vouchers. There was no option of another airline to re-book. We're just happy to still be going because there's no way we could get a non-stop on another airline for $174 r/t.

 

[Inkmahm]

I am keeping my fingers crossed that AirTran doesn't cancel our flights

Don't even THINK that!!!

 

[Mufasa&Simba]

I'm joining the club, too! First time posting in this thread. My dad and I were scheduled to fly out of MKE on Sept. 15th to Orlando and then back on the 20th. It took forever to get through on the phone because of a busy signal.... once we got through we were only on hold for like 5-7 minutes. Anyways, my dad was talking to the lady and first they were looking at flying out later on in October or November instead because we're both pretty flexible. November really didn't have anything and also October COULD be when the Brewers are in the playoffs (or world series?!?!) and I work at Miller park. I can go to WDW anytime, but Brewers in the world series is once in a lifetime.

Anyway, we ended up just getting a refund. We still want to go on our same original dates especially since have our ressie booked at CSR. I looked a little online at AirTran, Delta etc, but I either can't find anything good or I'm just confused. We plan to go to the local AAA office and see if we can get something good there- unless I do find a good deal online first.

Wish us luck and good luck to the rest of you, too!

 

[Ilovemylife]

i called 1-866-613-1390 I was on hold maybe 3 minutes ?

I still haven't been able to get through on that number ~ all I get is a busy signal.

But I'm much calmer now that I know we for sure have tickets to MCO.

 

[kgc07]

Our flights for May got canceled and flights we had in November to San Diego. I had to book the San Diego flights on Southwest for $700 more . AirTran is not booking for May. I have never flown AirTran only Midwest to Orlando, how do they compare? Are they fairly reliable?

 

[rainbowsandroses]

These were my flights as well in December. I was offered a 9:20am out of Milwaukee non stop instead of 7:20am or whatever it was and a return from Orlando at 1:35pm instead of 7:20pm. In light of everything, I don't think that the new times are significantly different.

If I were you rainbowandroses, I would take the new flight times that Midwest offers. Seems like a lot less headache than trying to book another airline, it is only a few hours difference.

I wish they would have made the flight going out of MCO about 3 hours later. I was counting on the last day as another partial park day and we have an early lunch ADR that is a bit hard to get.

I assume these are still non-stop which is a positive. The question is whether or not I trust Midwest any longer. January is a long time away and I am worried things could change again right after the holiday rush. The deal we got was good, but a friend just (a few days ago) got $100/ticket cheaper on another more stable airline.

I wonder what the timetable is for them to offer refunds? SW is still an option for us as they haven't released fare for our return trip. What a mess!

 

[faberj]

So who is everyone rebooking with??? Should I trust AirTran or am I going to end up in the same situation as I am with Midwest. It doesn't appear that Airtran is doing all that well either!

 

[jenmom24ks]

I just found this thread! We haven't recieved an email from Midwest, but when I went to our reservation page, there was a note that our flight had changed and to call Customer Service. Our flight was scheduled for May '09 from Kansas City to Orlando.

I looked at flights out of our home airport in Wichita and they are all running $400+ . We have 6 in our family so that is WAY more than we had budgeted for this trip. We may have to revamp our budget.

Air Tran hasn't released their flights for May 09 yet, and we may wait and see what fares look like on Southwest out of KC. All I know is Midwest out of KC does not appear to be an option any longer.

 

[Mufasa&Simba]

I just booked with Delta. I'd say we got a fairly good price considering the situation. It's still going to be a bit more than what we had for Midwest, but we did get the exact same arrival and departure dates (times are a little different though) so we don't have to change our CSR reservations. Also, we'll have to connect in ATL each way too. We leave MKE on Sept. 15th at 5:45am. Yes, LEAVE, not wake up at that time. I'm going to LOVE that. LOL Then we leave on the 20th, but it's at 9 am. Originally on midwest our flight was leaving at 7:20 pm and we'd have our last day to do stuff. Guess not anymore.

If you still haven't changed yet, try Delta like I did- you may find something good.

 

[faberj]

We are still on Midwest, but we have to fly out on 12/5 (we originally were flying out on 12/6) and we are now flying into Tampa so we have to find transportation from Tampa to WDW.

 

[mickey2000]

So who is everyone rebooking with??? Should I trust AirTran or am I going to end up in the same situation as I am with Midwest. It doesn't appear that Airtran is doing all that well either!

IMO if you can go with Southwest it is the most stable airline no matter the price.
IMO I also think AirTran is a poor choice. Delta is also with thier almost % cuts to Florida this fall... JMO

 

[twinsplusone]

We're going Feb '09 and still have flights. The times have changed dramatically but at least we still have flights. Here is my question though. When I check our flights through our confirmation info they are there but when I searched the dates just to be sure that there wasn't another time choice for coming home, the site says not available for our dates. Does that mean they are full or what's the deal? We're losing our last day because we're coming home at 1:30pm instead of 7:20pm.

DH says lots could change by then so again we just sit and wait.

 

[CheriePenguin]

Count me in as another DISer with a bummy Sunday due to the Midwest mess.

My Mom clued us in this morning after reading it in the paper. We quickly tried to contact MWA (after getting the red text on the website), only to get busy signals. Simultaneously we checked online for airfares.

We managed to get flights on Delta for actually a little less than we paid for our MW ones. We have to leave really early, but get to Orlando about the same time. We leave Orlando about an hour early and get home about an hour later than originally (quite late - especially for the 2 kiddos). The major downside is that they have layovers in Atlanta. The whole reason we had booked so early was to guarantee spots on the MW nonstop flights.

At least our touring plans and things should be able to stay as is.

Now we just have to get through to MW to request our refund.

People have been mentioning stuff about Delta cutting back flights, etc. Does anyone have any details to back that up? I'd like to relax knowing we have flights, but I'm still a bit worried.

 

[rainbowsandroses]

We're going Feb '09 and still have flights. The times have changed dramatically but at least we still have flights. Here is my question though. When I check our flights through our confirmation info they are there but when I searched the dates just to be sure that there wasn't another time choice for coming home, the site says not available for our dates. Does that mean they are full or what's the deal? We're losing our last day because we're coming home at 1:30pm instead of 7:20pm.

DH says lots could change by then so again we just sit and wait.

I got this message too and plugged in one person rather than 3 and it showed me some flights. But they were partially on Northwest and the MCO return flight was a much better time! I don't get what all the brown seats are for - supposedly those are all reserved till day of flight, but I wonder if they are just because each seat is double or triple booked and they need some people to request refunds.

 

[CarolynK]

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.

We began flying Midwest in 1999. Their free meal service included your choice of red or white wine; linen napkin; tiny glass salt & pepper shakers; real silverware (of course, plastic after 9/11); a HOT meal, plus baked-onboard chocolate chip cookies which they (so far) still provide. The seats were leather, 2x2, and considered "all first class." Service was very friendly, they won awards for that. Also, very important to us, they NEVER changed our seats after we booked them! I can honestly say that flying with them has been a pleasure.
We have stuck with them through all the changes, because it has been worth it to us for two reasons: flying out of MKE and, still - the service they provide. We have lately been disappointed with them, but compared to others we are reading about, Midwest is at least as good.

 

[Inkmahm]

Midwest regulars rethink travel after flight-cut announcement
By NICK HALTER
nhalter@journalsentinel.com
Posted: July 20, 2008
For the regulars whose future travel plans will be unaffected by the flight cuts in Midwest Airlines’ fall schedule, Sunday was business as usual at Mitchell International Airport. But loyal travelers who found that their favorite destinations have been cut or rerouted face tough decisions.


Lisa Sattell of Bayside flies Midwest eight to 10 times a year. Three or four of those trips are non-stop flights to Seattle to visit her daughter at college in Tacoma. Starting Sept. 8, the Milwaukee to Seattle flight will stop in Kansas City.

Her daughter may make Washington her home and Sattell said she will still fly Midwest to visit her.

“I really want to stay loyal to Midwest because I think it is the best airline,” she said. “If it involves trading off and stopping in Kansas City, yes, (I’m going to fly Midwest) because I want to support the jobs and unique service.”

Brandon Hair and his wife were relieved Sunday as they waited for their flight to San Francisco for a wedding. They said they were following the cuts closely to make sure their trip wouldn’t be affected. As of Sept. 8, though, flights to San Francisco will stop in Kansas City.

Hair flies to Boston regularly for business and those flights are not affected by the cuts. He’ll keep flying Midwest, he said, instead of driving to O’Hare International Airport in Chicago to catch a flight.

“I don’t mind paying a few extra dollars for the convenience,” he said.

Mike Hartwell of West Bend makes Midwest his first choice when looking for flights. He said he flies to Fort Lauderdale, Fla., to go on cruises. Even with Midwest cutting flights to both Fort Lauderdale and Fort Myers, Fla., Hartwell said he will still fly Midwest to other Florida destinations and rent a car.

“I still have a suitcase floating around somewhere in this country that was misplaced (by another airline) in the ’90s,” he said. “There are a lot of airlines I just won’t fly.”

A longtime Midwest customer, Brian Richson said today’s Midwest is a far cry from what he called the company’s “glory days.”

“Now they’re like everybody else,” he said.

Richson lives in Cincinnati and uses Midwest to fly to Fort Lauderdale.

“I won’t be doing that anymore,” he said.

As news of the flight cuts was released Sunday, Midwest’s phone lines were swamped with travelers trying to rearrange their trips or get refunds for canceled flights, said Randy Smith, vice president of sales and distribution. Smith said it could take weeks to get to every customer.

“We have tried to produce as much capacity as we can to have people answering the phones,” he said. “Unfortunately, a lot of people trying to get through are having to wait a long time.”

http://www.jsonline.com/story/index.aspx?id=774503

As of now, I have no flights scheduled on Midwest. We do have miles for two free tickets though, so we'll probably fly them again in the future to use those. Or, maybe we'll figure out how to use those miles on Northwest. Right now, I'm not the big supporter of Midwest that I once was.

 

[Inkmahm]

Dealing with Midwest Flight Cuts
By Jay Sorgi


So you want to fly to one of the cities Midwest is dropping, like Ft. Lauderdale or San Diego.

Today may be a perfect time to book your flights, because as of early this morning, online travel services like Orbitz and Travelocity haven't even taken Midwest off its schedule for flights after the cancellation date.

That means other airlines may not yet have responded with price hikes due to the cut supply of flights to those cities.

For the weekend after that date, Sept. 12-14, we found flights to Ft. Lauderdale for $184 and to San Diego for $270.

This morning, we found at least half a dozen airlines flying to Midwest's cut cities like Baltimore, Ft. Lauderdale, Hartford, San Diego.

The only city without many airline options was Muskegon, MI, and only Wausau-Stevens Point didn't have flights from Milwaukee below $300.

http://www.620wtmj.com/news/local/25678874.html

 

[tkoran]

I booked AirTran a couple of weeks ago for our February flights because I didn't trust Midwest to keep the flights they were offering. I checked to see if they still have the flights I would have booked and there is now only one option both ways and both involve connecting in Indianapolis. The ticket also went up to almost $1,000 each!!!! My flights with AirTran are leaving approx 7 am for flight down and not arriving until almost 10 pm coming home so we'll have to rent a hotel room both nights, but at least we have flights (for now).