Midwest to jet out of La Crosse

0 Comments | La Crosse Tribune, Sep 15, 2005 | by Cahalan, Steve

Milwaukee-based Midwest Airlines will end its Midwest Connect commuter airline service to the La Crosse Municipal Airport on Oct. 31 because it's been losing money on the route, a company spokesman confirmed Wednesday.

"The issue has gotten magnified with the recent spikes in the cost of aviation fuel," said Randy Smith, Midwest Airlines vice president of sales and distribution.

Smith said Midwest Airlines continuously reviews the performance of individual flights and markets. "When we see things that aren't in good shape, we make changes," he said. Despite changes made to the route, he said, "The perform ance on both a (passenger) load and a revenue basis just has not improved."

The commuter service between the La Crosse and Milwaukee airports began in September 1989, using 19-passenger turboprop aircraft.

On weekdays, there are three Midwest Connect flights a day from La Crosse to Milwaukee, and three flights fro in Milwaukee to La Crosse. On Saturday and Sunday, there are two flights a day in each direction.

Midwest Connect accounts for only about 6 percent of the passengers who fly from La Crosse, airport Manager Dan Wruck said. The airport also is served by Northwest Airlines and its Northwest Airlink affiliates, Mesaba Airlines and Pinnacle Airlines, which provide service to Minneapolis-St. Paul; and by American Eagle, which provides service to Chicago.

Wruck said the company informed him of its decision late Tuesday. A company official told him last week the route might be dropped, Wruck said.

"I did ask them (last week) what could we, as an airport, do for them to have them stay," Wruck said. "They didn't have any real answer for me. They said the route just doesn't show the profits they need."

Wruck said he is certain that high fuel prices were a factor, and noted both Northwest Airlines Corp. and Delta Air Lines Inc. filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection Wednesday. "It's pushing them all very, very hard," he said of high fuel prices.

Wruck said he doubts Northwest or American will increase service to LaCrosse, but believes they will be able to accommodate the passengers who otherwise would have flown on Midwest Connect flights.

"We'll certainly look into trying to entice another carrier to come" to La Crosse, Wruck said. "But there's not anyone out there that I'm aware of that's really looking to emerge in new markets."

The number of passengers flying on Midwest Connect from La Crosse has been "flat," and was so even before the Sept. 11, 2001, terrorist attacks affected the airline industry, Wruck said.

"It's really unfortunate," Wruck said. "I hate to see them go.

Wruck added it's important for area residents to fly from La Crosse, rather than drive to another airport.

The company is beginning to contact people who had booked flights between La Crosse and Milwaukee for dates after Oct. 31, to explain their options, Smith said.

Dave Friedman, owner of Friedman's Hobbit Travel in La Crosse, said he discovered Midwest Connect service to the city was ending when he was unable to book a November flight for a customer Wednesday.

"Yes and no," Friedman said when asked whether the decision surprised him. "When we've talked to their sales people, they've been very complimentary about the La Crosse market. On the other hand, the airline business is very, very tough.

"I think the fact they never supported it with larger aircraft indicated there was a good but not necessarily great response" to the route, Friedman said.