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Midwest Airlines Will Maintain Tampa Service

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By TED JACKOVICS

The Tampa Tribune

Published: July 22, 2008

TAMPA - Milwaukee-based Midwest Airlines said Monday it would retain service at Tampa International Airport but eliminate flights beginning Sept. 8 at Fort Lauderdale and Fort Myers.

The carrier also said it would reduce Orlando flights to seasonal service.

Midwest provides the only nonstop Tampa-Milwaukee service with one daily round-trip flight.

The airline is trimming flights as it phases out its MD-80 jets in favor of more fuel-efficient Boeing 717s. Midwest said last week it will cut 1,200 jobs, or about 40 percent of its work force of more than 3,000 employees.

A Midwest executive said a strong business market on Tampa-Milwaukee flights played a key role in the decision to maintain Tampa service.

"We reviewed the performance and projected economics on each route in the system as well as how it fits into the broader network, such as connections from upper Midwest cities over Milwaukee to Tampa," said Randall K. Smith, vice president of sales and distribution for Midwest Airlines.

"We have had good performance based partially on a higher business component than most other Florida cities and that did help us build the case to retain service between Tampa and Milwaukee."

Although Tampa International stands to lose flights or larger aircraft in lieu of smaller ones as airlines cut costs through the year, the local airport continues to fare better than other Florida airports with recent flight reductions.

For example, the Official Airline Guide's schedules show Tampa will lose 7 percent of its seats on departing flights in December, compared with 13.2 percent at Orlando International Airport. Orlando handles about 37 million passengers annually, compared with about 19.5 million at Tampa International.

Tampa International director Louis Miller said recently the local airport benefits from a strong mix of business and leisure travelers, with about 30 percent of travelers on business compared with leisure trips.

Orlando International reports 22 percent of its passengers are business travelers, 7 percent on combination business-pleasure trips and 71 percent on trips for leisure and or visiting friends and relatives.

Reporter Ted Jackovics can be reached at tjackovics@tampatrib.com or (813) 259-7817.

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