First Midwest Airlines reduced its staff, now it is cutting its scheduled number of flights, the Associated Press reports. Fuel costs are, once again, the primary factor as the Milwaukee-based airline plans to eliminate flights to leisure destinations while it holds on to departures to business destinations. The series of changes will reduce the airline's service to levels that existed before recession and the 9/11 terrorist attacks.
General flights to San Diego, as well as Fort Lauderdale and Fort Myers in Florida, will be removed, leaving Tampa as the only Florida city with year-round service from Midwest. Midwest Connect service to Baltimore; Hartford, CT; Louisville, KY.; Raleigh/Durham, N.C.; and St. Louis will be cut as well. Meanwhile, nonstop flights to Los Angeles, San Francisco and Seattle will also be changed, as the flights will now stop in Kansas City first.
All departures to Atlanta, Boston, Denver, Minneapolis, New York, Philadelphia, Phoenix, Pittsburgh, and Washington, D.C., will remain unaffected.
Midwest Airlines said it will try hard to rebook passengers who bought tickets for flights that are canceled, and will refund passengers whose flights cannot be rebooked.