Midwest Airlines

[Calker]

Our flight in September to Orlando has been cancelled (we have a flight to Orlando on the 3rd but as of the 8th Midwest is cancelling all flights) due to the schedule change announced by Midwest yesterday. I have not been able to get through by phone to find out what they will help/not help us do.

 

Did anyone have this experience and been able to rearrange flights/work with Midwest on changes/etc

[territax]

Our flights were the end of November to Ft. Lauderdale, it was Minneapolis, Milwaukee, Ft. Lauderdale, then they added Milwaukee to Indianapolis then Ft. Lauderdale, but the kicker was they didn't have us scheduled to leave Ft. Lauderdale for the return and after I finally got through to them, they said they're wasn't anything they could do but submit a written request for scheduling to possibly do something, but don't count on it. I rebooked with Airtran.

[raytownlady]

We usually fly on Midwest because we love the 2 across seating and because the offerred non stop service between Kansas City and Ft. Lauderdale. There was an article in the newspaper this morning that said folks with tickets can go to the Midwest website and click on the view/change my reservation button to request a refund.

 

Because of a huge difference in fares this year we booked flights on Southwest. Man am I glad I took that route.

[Mikel1733]

Unfortunately this is just the beginning of what will be happening between now and October/November affecting all the airlines. Best rule is to regularly check your flights status and make sure you have trip cancellation insurance covering all aspects of the trip.

[KenMo]

Midwest was my favorite because of the seating and they had non-stop from MCI to FLL. No more.....boo!!

 

So it's SWA for me, too.

 

I'm afraid to book air too early anymore due to what's happening with the airlines. I don't even want to book with the one DH works for because they've been screwing around with reservations too.

[triplee]

Calker,

 

Feel badly for you. I took the safe route and booked through SWA. I think I am fairly safe with them & I also have trip insurance.

 

Hope you get things resolved to your satisfaction. Look forward to meeting you aboard the Glory!

 

Lee

[aVASTGrl]

I usually try to book SW for all my domestic flights because I've only had one flight cancelled with them and that was weather related. They're also very good about finding alternate travel for their passengers if there is a problem

[Mike&Nancy]

We lost our flight from MCI to Orlando today. We had a flight booked for 10-18, but service is suspended until 10-20. :mad: Oh well, we would've lost our non-stop anyhow, which is what we originally booked. I looked at Southwest, but it'll cost us an additional $150.00, with stops. I used to love Midwest, not so much today, lol.

[G'ma]

From the Minneapolis Business Journal today:

 

Oak Creek-based Midwest Air Group Inc., which operates Midwest Airlines and Skyway, will try to retain flights where it sees a large amount of business travel, and cut leisure destinations.

Midwest will now have 90 daily departures to 28 cities, down from 118 departures to 38 cities.

Flights to San Diego, as well as Fort Lauderdale, Fla., and Fort Myers., Fla. will be cut, but it will continue to offer service to Tampa. It will also offer seasonal service to Orlando.

[territax]

We have travel insurance, called them, and they said this wasn't a covered travel reason. I'm gonna call and see again and see if I get a different answer.

[cruisingagentone]

All you Kansas City people I have the same problem MCI to MCO in Sept so I booked SW yesterday only cost me $19.00 more and the time for return was better. Keep checking the SW website, I mean like every hour if possible, it will go up and down. Its already down 6.00 for my flites from yesterday afternoon:) The thing thats upsetting me is you can't go on the website, like someone mentioned earlier, to request the refund because it says "error" call and if you call the 866 or the regular res number its a busy signal. Very frustrating.

[denb]

Did anyone have this experience and been able to rearrange flights/work with Midwest on changes/etc

Both our December and March booked flights from MKE to FLL were cancelled. I was able to request a full refund online yesterday for our December flight, but the March one came back with "unable to process a refund request online. Please call". Haven't tried calling yet, as I'm sure they're swamped. Rebooking on another airline looks to be close to twice as much as what I originally paid for Midwest, plus none are nonstop like Midwest was. I'm not optomistic they'll be of any help with the rebooking. :(

[teenabear]

We were also booked on Midwest in January. We were to leave from Madison to Ft. Lauderdale. The woman I talked to at Midwest yesterday was VERY helpful. She kept saying how sorry she was but it's not her fault it is the people above her. She gave me some good advice and that was to fly into Miami instead of Ft. Lauderdale as it is cheaper. I was able to rebook on American from Ohare non stop to Miami for only $70 a person more. Not bad considering what I was seeing for the rates on other airlines. There is also a super shuttle that will take us from Miami to Ft. Lauderdale for $28 per person. So I am breathing alittle easier now that I have everything booked again.

[iamtrustworthy]

We have travel insurance, called them, and they said this wasn't a covered travel reason. I'm gonna call and see again and see if I get a different answer.

 

Hi territax,

 

Generally travel insurance plans do not cover "failure of the travel supplier to provide the bargained for travel arrangements". That's because it's the airline's responsibility to make it right for you.

 

However, call the person who sold you the insurance and have them clairify the coverage for you.

[denb]

I was able to rebook on American from Ohare non stop to Miami for only $70 a person more.

Tina,

Did Midwest rebook for you, or did you have to do it yourself after they refunded your original booking?

[bransonpa]

We also had this flight booked for October 2 and it was canceled yesterday. We switched to Delta and got a decent flight for $105. However, trying to get our money out of Midwest is a pain. For the refund you are supposed to click on a "link". The link then tells you your flight has been changed and you have to call...and naturally it is the number that you cannot get through. AUGH!!! At least it was the return flight and not the flight GOING to the Cruise.

[cruisingagentone]

Bransonpa

Try it again. I was having the same problems but I just kept going back to the website and it finally worked.

[teenabear]

I had to book my own new air. As for the refund when I was talking to the woman on the phone she processed our refund then. Not only did she do our but she did my parents as well and they had a different confirmation number. I will admit it took me awhile to get through on the phone yesterday but I just kept hitting redial on my phone at work and kept working while I waited.

[Manda2831]

We had the same problem for MCI to FLL at the end of September, but luckily, I am OCD and check the flight status regularly on Midwest. I love Midwest and if I have the option, I will fly them anywhere, but in this case, we rebooked with Southwest in May and saved the hassle of dealing with it now. They credited my CC with no problem within a week.

The MCI to FLL flights were cancelled several months ago. First, they cancelled the direct flight, then they took FLL out of circulation entirely. Hopefully, this isn't going to be the case permanently because they're my favorite airline.

[gargoyle999]

Had our flight from MSP to FLL via MKE canceled for Feb. Like others have said I liked Midwest due to the seating. Ended up on NWA. Not my favorite choice but the flights are direct, assuming they hold up.

 

I liked the cookies on Midwest too! :)

[boundingmaynard]

Our flight in September to Orlando has been cancelled (we have a flight to Orlando on the 3rd but as of the 8th Midwest is cancelling all flights) due to the schedule change announced by Midwest yesterday. I have not been able to get through by phone to find out what they will help/not help us do.

 

Did anyone have this experience and been able to rearrange flights/work with Midwest on changes/etc

 

I have it from a reliable source that other than refunding your airfare the only other thing Midwest will be doing is attempting to assist you in finding another carrier. There will be no compensation of any kind.

 

It is truly sad to watch Midwest crumble, it is a shadow of what it once was and I fear the end is near.:(

 

We have a group of 17 flying to FLL on 7/25 our return on 8/3 will be Midwests last trip from there.

[KenMo]

I just received my Best Care Weekly email from Midwest. Here's what it said....

 

As you've likely heard or read, Midwest Airlines is in the process of restructuring to adapt to extraordinarily high fuel prices. One key part of these efforts is making difficult but necessary changes to our flight schedule. The information below outlines these changes and lets you know what to do if you think your flight might be impacted on or after September 8, 2008.

 

What Does Not Change

We will remain true to our mission of serving major business destinations with the best schedule and more nonstop flights from Milwaukee than any other airline.

 

The following destinations remain part of the Midwest Airlines core route structure:

Atlanta

Boston

Dallas/Ft. Worth

Denver

Kansas City

Las Vegas

Los Angeles

Minneapolis/St. Paul

New York La Guardia

Omaha

Orlando

Philadelphia

Phoenix

San Francisco

Seattle/Tacoma

Tampa

Washington, D.C.

Retained Midwest Connect Markets

Appleton

Cleveland

Columbus

Dayton

Des Moines

New York Newark

Flint

Green Bay

Grand Rapids

Indianapolis

Madison

Minneapolis/St. Paul

Nashville

Omaha

Philadelphia

Toronto

Cities We Will No Longer Serve

Midwest Airlines

Ft. Lauderdale

Ft. Myers

San Diego

Midwest Connect

Baltimore

Hartford

Louisville

Muskegon

Raleigh/Durham

St. Louis

San Antonio

Wausau/Stevens Point

Other Changes of Note

 

Routes to the West Coast

• With our MD-80s being taken out of service, flights to Los Angeles, San Francisco and Seattle/Tacoma will be operated on Boeing 717 aircraft via Kansas City. Flights from Milwaukee to Denver, Las Vegas and Phoenix will be nonstop on a Boeing 717.

Kansas City Changes

We will continue to serve the following destinations nonstop from Kansas City:

• Boston
  
• Los Angeles
  
• Milwaukee
  
• New York LaGuardia
  
• San Francisco
  
• Seattle/Tacoma
  
• Washington, D.C.

Florida

• Longer flights to leisure market destinations are difficult to justify economically for Midwest and the rest of the industry. We realize that this will create complications for our customers with existing and future vacation plans for Florida.
  
• Tampa will be the only Florida city we will serve on a year-round basis. Flights will be operated on Boeing 717 aircraft. We will continue nonstop service between Milwaukee and Orlando, but only seasonally. During the transition, we will suspend service Sept. 8 through Oct. 20, and then resume it Oct. 21, 2008 through April 30, 2009.

What Should You Do Now?

• If you booked your flight through midwestairlines.com or our Reservations center, you will receive a notification from us regarding flight changes.
  
• If you booked through a travel agency or online service such as Orbitz, Travelocity or Expedia, the agent or online service will contact you.
  
• If you are holding a ticket for flights to any of the cities being discontinued or routes where frequency has been reduced, we encourage you to click here to view your reservation and request a full refund. For travel agency-issued tickets customers must have their ticket number or Midwest airlines six-letter confirmation code available.
  
• If customers need to contact us regarding the schedule changes, we request that they call our Reservations center directly at 866-613-1390 and not call our corporate offices. We thank you in advance for your patience when calling, as we're helping a significant number of customers with similar requests.

Reaccomodation Options

If your flight has been affected by the schedule changes, you will have the following options:

• Rebook on a different Midwest Airlines flight, if possible.
  
• Rebook on another airline, if possible (requires you to call the Reservations center). This option may not be available in many cases as other airlines have limited seats for reaccommodation.
  
• Use the value of your ticket to purchase a ticket to a different Midwest Airlines destination.
  
• Receive a full refund.

[cruiseaddict05]

It sounds like we were lucky... in April our Aug 23rd flight from Mpls to FLL was changed so we called and sure enough they cancelled the route. Fortunately they rerouted us with NWA and we actually get to fly in a day early because they could not get us there soon enough the day of. The down side is we have to go all the way to TX for a connecting flight on the way there and on the way back we have to connect in Memphis and Detroit before getting back to MN!

 

 

Our flight in September to Orlando has been cancelled (we have a flight to Orlando on the 3rd but as of the 8th Midwest is cancelling all flights) due to the schedule change announced by Midwest yesterday. I have not been able to get through by phone to find out what they will help/not help us do.

 

Did anyone have this experience and been able to rearrange flights/work with Midwest on changes/etc

[bobandkelly]

Anyone else who is trying to get through keep trying. I finally did. It was about a 10 min. wait after I got a ring not a busy signal.

For us we took off the Green Bay portion of our trip. We were going to have a 6hr. layover in Milwaukee on the way home. It will only take 3hr. to drive. We will fly Milwaukee to Tampa and back. No cash off but they are giving vouchers. Not that I will probably get to use them. But it is still cheaper than trying to book with someone else.

Kelly

[Calker]

Midwest will be able to fly us to Orlando on 9/3 but they are cancelling all flights after 9/8. So we can get to FL but can't get home.

 

We have two different insurance policies covering this trip in September (long story). The insurance companies are: AIG Travel Guard and CSA Travel Protection.

 

Guess what - if an airline cancels/changes their itinerary - NO COVERAGE. Talked to both companies today, the only thing that will happen is IF we decide to cancel the entire trip due to the increase in cost for air flights - the insurance companies do have an emergency travel department that will try to secure a flight home from Orlando - but they will not guarantee they will be able to do anything.