Midwest Airlines trip report

[JS]

Last weekend I flew Midwest Airlines from LGA to MQT via MKE. I didn't have to worry about a kiosk not working, because they don't have any!

The F-like 2x2 seating on the 717 was very nice, although with standard legroom. But that's OK; I don't need as much legroom if I'm not squished next to my neighbor.

I would have bought an in-flight meal, but they only do credit cards on board, and I only do cash. The complimentary coffee was good, with real half-and-half, and the baked-on-board cookies were delicious!

Midwest Airlines is the best airline, bar none! It's like flying on Southwest but with wider seats, seat assignments, and fresh cookies. Screw the miles, I'll take YX any time (and they do have a frequent flyer program).

I'm flying US Airways this weekend, only because I'm flying to a US monopoly airport, LWB. Wish me luck!

 

[PA18]

Midwest Airlines is the best airline, bar none! It's like flying on Southwest but with wider seats, seat assignments, and fresh cookies. Screw the miles, I'll take YX any time (and they do have a frequent flyer program).

Wait 'til "Forklift Joe" Leonard gets his hands on them.

 

[Bear96]

Midwest rocks -- IF you are on one of their Signature Service flights (like the NYC area to MKE). But be advised that many of their markets are not Signature Service.

 

[Sthrnboy]

Wait 'til "Forklift Joe" Leonard gets his hands on them.

I have very close friends that work for AirTran/ValuJet back in the days till now and they tell me that if you say "ForkLift JOE" that's a one way ticket out the door. and in the unemployment line! :blink: !

 

[JS]

Well we all seem to agree on ONE thing!! Midwest IS the best.

They kept a few of the MD-80's that they use for their "Saver Service" and even that isn't horrible.

Even the Dornier 328's have the fresh cookies in flight.

JS, They also code share and do some things with NWA on the FF side. I'll be looking into that more because If I can make it work I intend to shift some business their way. I'd LOVE to shift it all to them, I've felt that way for a very very long time.

They partner with Northworst? That's a shame.

 

[Kev3188]

Last weekend I flew Midwest Airlines from LGA to MQT via MKE.

I assume the MQT segment was on a B1900D?

The complimentary coffee was good, with real half-and-half, and the baked-on-board cookies were delicious!

Yes they are!!!!

 

[JS]

I assume the MQT segment was on a B1900D?

correct

The only downside to the trip was the idiot TSA boarding pass/ID checker in MQT -- a total pig, she should be fired and fined for harrassing a 90 year old man.

 

[flyastrojets]

OK...I'm curious... What's the story behind forklift Joe?

 

[USFlyer]

Midwest Airlines is the best airline, bar none! It's like flying on Southwest but with wider seats, seat assignments, and fresh cookies. Screw the miles, I'll take YX any time (and they do have a frequent flyer program).

You can credit YX miles to NW, and they earn EQMs on NW.

Also, I fly NW every week after abandoning US. The "Northworst" label is uncalled for. I'm not sure where that originated, but I've been very pleased with their service.

 

[JS]

You can credit YX miles to NW, and they earn EQMs on NW.

Also, I fly NW every week after abandoning US. The "Northworst" label is uncalled for. I'm not sure where that originated, but I've been very pleased with their service.

The last time I flew NW, my flight to MEM was late, leaving me with 15 minutes left before the departure time of my connecting flight to PIB. I ran to the other gate and breathed a sigh of relief to see PIB still on the monitor saying "on time" 11 minutes before departure.

Turns out they had just decided to leave anyway and didn't even bother updating the monitor until I asked them when we would begin boarding. I don't understand that -- it's a Saab 340, you could start boarding two minutes before departure and still leave on time.

The idiot gate agent claimed that 7:10 PM (posted departure time) was the time they had to be on the runway. I told her she was wrong and that she had no right to dispatch the plane without me on it. She didn't care.

I marched out to the ticket counter to talk to a real NW agent (as opposed to Pinnacle). She said the plane had empty seats, and she didn't know why they left without me. She apologized and offered me a hotel voucher and a flight the next morning, but I couldn't take it because I had to be in Laurel, MS sometime that evening, not the next day.

I paid the rip-off rate of about $120 to drive a Hertz rental car one way from MEM to PIB in six hours. I was very angry with NW for stranding me at the airport for no reason but was willing to fly them again as long as they compensate me for my wasted money and time. This has happened to me a couple of times on other airlines. It's inexcusable but an apology and some compensation will win me back.

I wrote NW a letter and wanted 1/4th of my fare back since they took back one of the four flights of my itinerary. I did mention that 1/4th of the fare was slightly less than the cost of driving myself to PIB but I was willing to accept that anyway.

They wrote back and blamed everything on ATC. I found that odd since I wasn't aware that ATC forces planes to leave 12 minutes early. They also refunded me what they claim the flight was worth, which was about $45, minus a *processing fee*. Unbelievable. Why don't they just slap me in the face while they're at it?

This is not the way to treat a customer whether it's his first flight, 1000th flight, whether he paid $100 or $1,000. I paid for a service, did not receive it, got no apology for screwing me over, and didn't even appropriately refund me what they failed to deliver.

I'll give businesses plenty of second chances when they screw up and apologize, but not when they screw up and then tell me it's someone else's fault and they're charging me a processing fee on a measly "refund".

 

[PA18]

OK...I'm curious... What's the story behind forklift Joe?

"The resulting investigation by the National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB) was released on December 21 1979. It revealed the probable cause to be attributable to damage to the left wing engine pylon that occurred during an earlier engine change at American Airlines's aircraft overhaul facility in Tulsa, Oklahoma. The pylon was damaged due to an incorrectly executed engine removal procedure. The correct procedure called for removal of the engine prior to the removal of the engine pylon. To save time and costs, American Airlines instructed its mechanics to remove the engine together with the pylon all at one time. Joe Leonard, the current chairman of AirTran airlines, was American's director of maintenance at that time and approved this procedure. A large forklift was used to hold the engine up while it was detached from the wing. During the procedure a crew shift change occurred, leaving the forklift unmonitored for a period of time. A problem in the fork lift's hydraulic system caused it to tilt the engine while still under the wing. This exerted enough pressure on the engine pylon to create a large indentation and a serious fracture in its body. The fracture went unnoticed for several flights, getting worse with each flight that the plane had taken. During flight 191's takeoff, enough force was generated to finally cause the pylon to fail."

Here's the link to the full text:

http://www.answers.com/topic/american-airlines-flight-191

I have very close friends that work for AirTran/ValuJet back in the days till now and they tell me that if you say "ForkLift JOE" that's a one way ticket out the door. and in the unemployment line! :blink: !

I guess the truth hurts, doesn't it?

 

[CynicalResAgent]

The balance is Signature Service or Midwest Connect. Interestingly enough they also Code share with US Airways Express out of MCI to 6 small cities in KS and LIT.

I may be wrong but I thought the MCI express flights were operated by Air Midwest which is not Midwest Airlines and is owned by Mesa.

 

[320driver]

Well we all seem to agree on ONE thing!! Midwest IS the best.

They kept a few of the MD-80's that they use for their "Saver Service" and even that isn't horrible.

Even the Dornier 328's have the fresh cookies in flight.

JS, They also code share and do some things with NWA on the FF side. I'll be looking into that more because If I can make it work I intend to shift some business their way. I'd LOVE to shift it all to them, I've felt that way for a very very long time.

Dont let the door hit you on the way out(you wont be missed). Maybe you can post all your BS complaints to them on there fourm.

 

[JS]

I may be wrong but I thought the MCI express flights were operated by Air Midwest which is not Midwest Airlines and is owned by Mesa.

That is correct. The Kansas flights are operated by Air Midwest, a wholly owned subsidiary of Mesa. Midwest Airlines and US Airways code-share on those flights.

 

[320driver]

Awww! Now you hurt my feelings :angry: Ever stop to think that I might not have any complaints? I haven't so far and I usually have at least one trip per year on Midwest.

It's not my fault that US has "Challenges". I didn't do the web site, I didn't oversee the res migration or the 320 re-re-confuguration. Your cracker jack management team did. So if you'd like to be mad at someone I suggest you start there. Didn't you ever hear of "Don't shoot the messenger"?

Not sure if you're aware of this but US Aviation has an ignore feature and I've found it works quite nicely.

The cracker jack team you talk of is the one that is running a profitable airline. You only have negative remarks about everything about the way tempe run things(ex: closet on A320)they dont put butts in a/c they dont add rev. yes some of the stuff they have done was boneheaded(video in all of f/c overheads).and as for shooting the messenger just the constant whinner.