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{{Short description|Chicago Midway Airport-based airline (1976–1991)}}
{{For|the North Carolina-based Midway Airlines|Midway Airlines (1993–2003)}}
{{Use mdy dates|date=April 2024}}
{{Infobox airline
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| parent =
| headquarters = [[Chicago, Illinois]]
| key_people = [[David R. Hinson]] <small>([[Chief executive officer|CEO]])</small>
| website =
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'''Midway Airlines''' was a [[United States]] airline based in [[Chicago, Illinois]]. It was incorporated on October 13, 1976, by [[Kenneth T. Carlson]], [[Irving T. Tague]] and [[William B. Owens]], filing with the [[Civil Aeronautics Board]] (CAB) for an airline operating certificate. Although it received its operating certificate from the CAB prior to the passage of the [[Airline Deregulation Act]] in 1978, it was viewed as the first post-deregulation start-up. The airline commenced operations on November 1, 1979.<ref name="history">{{Cite web|url=http://www.geocities.com/airbus777/history.html|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090805195855/http://geocities.com/airbus777/history.html|url-status=dead|archive-date=2009-08-05|title=WebCite query result|website=www.webcitation.org}}</ref>
The airline was notable for breathing new life into [[Midway International Airport]], then called Chicago Midway Airport, which
Midway was never highly or consistently profitable, but unlike many bigger and/or more prominent airlines (e.g. [[Braniff International Airways|Braniff]], [[People Express Airlines (1980s)|People Express]], [[Western Airlines]] and [[Piedmont Airlines (1948–1989)|Piedmont Airlines]])
A group of investors, including Carlson, bought the airline's name (for $20,000) and started another [[Midway Airlines (1993–2003)|Midway Airlines]], which flew from 1993 to 2003.<ref>[https://www.chicagotribune.com/1993/08/11/founder-of-midway-air-recycling-name/ ''Founder of Midway Air Recycling Name'', Chicago Tribune, August 11, 1993]</ref><ref name="wp81501">{{cite news |title=Midway Airlines Files for Bankruptcy |newspaper=[[The Washington Post]] |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220807165727/https://www.washingtonpost.com/archive/business/2001/08/15/midway-airlines-files-for-bankruptcy/ef0d0e09-01d3-47c7-bac5-e65b8719957e/ |archive-date=2022-08-07 |url-status=live |url=https://www.washingtonpost.com/archive/business/2001/08/15/midway-airlines-files-for-bankruptcy/ef0d0e09-01d3-47c7-bac5-e65b8719957e/}}</ref>
==History==
[[File:Douglas DC-9-15 N1065T Midway Als DCA 26.06.82 edited-2.jpg|thumb|right|[[Douglas DC-9|DC-9-15]] in the original livery]]
===Representative Fary and Lamar Muse===▼
In June 1976, [[Lamar Muse]], founding president of [[Southwest Airlines]], testified to Congress. Representative [[John G. Fary]], in whose district was Midway Airport, asked if Muse had any ideas how to revive the airport, then “virtually a ghost town”. Muse said, in part, “…you could do exactly the same thing at Midway that Southwest has done at Love Field in Dallas…”<ref>{{cite report|title=Civil Aeronautics Board Reports|volume=78|year=1978|page=514|url=https://hdl.handle.net/2027/ien.35559002074619}}</ref> Muse said he incautiously aired this idea in the offices of consultants Simat, Helliesen & Eichner (SH&E), where partner John Eichner was a friend and frequent business partner of Muse. Two other SH&E consultants took the idea to former [[Hughes Airwest]] executive Irving Tague and incorporated Midway Airlines (October 13, 1976)<ref>[https://opencorporates.com/companies/us_de/829940 Opencorporates record of Midway Airlines incorporation]</ref> to be first in line with the CAB. And founder Kenneth Carlson was in fact an SH&E vice president immediately prior to starting Midway Airlines.<ref name="Carlson">{{cite report|title=Economic Cases of the Civil Aeronautics Board |volume=87, part I|date=October 1980 – January 1981|page=682|url=https://hdl.handle.net/2027/osu.32437000534244}}</ref> In response, Muse created a subsidiary, Midway (Southwest) Airway Co., which also applied to the CAB. Muse’s idea was to connect Midway Airport to 15 cities about 200-500 miles from Chicago, whereas Midway Airlines took a smaller list of six cities to the CAB.<ref>{{cite book |last=Muse |first=Lamar |author-link=Lamar Muse |date=2002 |title=Southwest Passage |publisher=Eakin Press |pages=166-193|isbn=1571687394}}</ref>▼
▲===June 1976: Representative Fary and Lamar Muse===
Midway Airport was a flashpoint for critics of airline regulation because the slow and bureaucratic CAB failed to resuscitate the airport, a priority for the City of Chicago and the Illinois [[Parliamentary delegation#In the United States|congressional delegation]]. Muse said in July 1977 Congressional deregulation hearings (when total airline service at Midway was two Delta flights/day) that, based on its experience in Texas, Southwest would, within a year, pump 5 million passengers per year through Midway with 92 737 departures/weekday (79 per day on weekends).<ref>{{cite report|title=Aviation Regulatory Reform: Hearings before the Subcommittee on Aviation of the Committee on Public Works and Transportation, House of Representatives, Ninety-Fifth Congress, First Session, on H.R. 8813 (introduced August 13, 1977)|publisher=U.S. Government Printing Office|location=Washington, DC|pages=493-496|year=1977|url=https://hdl.handle.net/2027/umn.31951002834663r}}</ref>▼
▲In June 1976, [[Lamar Muse]], founding president of [[Southwest Airlines]], testified to Congress. Representative [[John G. Fary]],
But Southwest’s board of directors was not supportive and the plan was a bone of contention in Muse’s feud with Southwest founder [[Rollin King]], which ultimately led to Muse's resignation from Southwest in March 1978.{{sfn|Muse|2002|p=193}} This helped clear the way for Midway Airlines. History later vindicated Muse's view of Midway airport as a Southwest opportunity (as of March 5, 2024, Southwest scheduled up to 249 departures per day at Midway).<ref name="WNMDW">[https://swamedia.com/media_storage/city_fact_sheets/MDW.pdf Southwest Airlines City Facts for Chicago (Midway), accessed April 2, 2024]</ref> Midway Airport did not reach the 5 million annual passengers/year level until 1987.<ref>{{cite report|title=FAA Statistical Handbook of Aviation|year=1987|publisher=Federal Aviation Administration|page=84|url=https://hdl.handle.net/2027/mdp.39015018250038}}</ref>▼
▲Midway Airport was a flashpoint for critics of airline regulation because the
▲But Southwest’s board of directors was not supportive and
Midway Airlines, from concept to reality, reflected the progress of US airline deregulation, for which the inflection point was the high-profile 1975 Senate hearings on the CAB by [[Ted Kennedy]]. Ex-ante, new scheduled carrier certification was unthinkable, it hadn’t happened in decades. Ex-post, there was a sense of possibility, which is why, in 1976, the idea of Midway Airlines was plausible.<ref>{{cite report|last1=Bailey|first1=Elizabeth E.|last3=Kaplan|first3=Daniel P.|last2=Graham|first2=David R.|title=Deregulating the Airlines: An Economic Analysis|publisher=Civil Aeronautics Board |date=May 1983 |pages=26-29|url=https://hdl.handle.net/2027/ien.35556021337282|ref={{sfnref|BG&K|1983}}}}</ref> But CAB bureaucracy still moved slowly. However, in 1977, President [[Jimmy Carter]] appointed deregulator [[Alfred E. Kahn|Alfred Kahn]] to run the CAB, handing control to reformers, thereby completely changing the nature and tempo of its decisions{{sfn|BG&K|1983|p=29-34}}. The Carter administration (and Congress) was in favor of opening up Midway Airport to low-cost air travel.<ref>{{cite journal|journal=Economic Cases of the Civil Aeronautics Board|volume=78|title=Chicago-Midway Low-Fare Route Proceeding|date=August-September 1978|publisher=Civil Aeronautics Board|page=485|url=https://hdl.handle.net/2027/osu.32437011657497|ref={{sfnref|Proceeding|1978}}}}</ref><ref>[https://www.newspapers.com/image/386495676 ''Cut-rate Midway flights OKd by U.S.'' Chicago Tribune, December 3, 1977]</ref> The CAB announced in August 1977 that it would decide the Midway airport proceeding by August 1978, incredibly fast for the CAB.{{sfn|Proceeding|1978|p=481}}▼
===1976 - November, 1979: extended gestation===
The August 1978 CAB ruling (against a backdrop of the [[Airline Deregulation Act]] going through Congress) was good news/bad news for Midway. Good news: it got the routes it wanted. Bad news: so did everyone else. Midway believed it deserved (as the self-proclaimed innovator) all six Midway routes to itself, at least for a time, to become established. But the CAB noted that Southwest might be the innovator (see prior section) and projections showed it to be the most efficient applicant, but the CAB wouldn't play favorites. Midway, Southwest and [[Regional airline#Early growth|local service airline]] [[North Central Airlines|North Central]] each got all six routes and Northwest and Delta got the select Midway routes they asked for. In addition, Midway and the Southwest Midway subsidiary were both given economic certification as well. The CAB was on a roll: it had already opened an even broader Midway airport proceeding for another 24 routes.{{sfn|Proceeding|1978|p=454-592}} There was substantial doubt Midway Airlines would get funding given what looked like an avalanche of future service at the airport.<ref>[https://www.newspapers.com/image/386662496 ''Midway Airlines can’t get backing'', Chicago Tribune, December 17, 1978]</ref>▼
▲Midway Airlines
</ref> The Carter administration and Congress were in favor of opening up Midway Airport to low-cost air travel.<ref>{{cite journal|journal=Economic Cases of the Civil Aeronautics Board|volume=78|title=Chicago-Midway Low-Fare Route Proceeding|date=August–September 1978|publisher=Civil Aeronautics Board|page=485|url=https://hdl.handle.net/2027/osu.32437011657497|ref={{sfnref|Proceeding|1978}}}}</ref><ref>[https://www.newspapers.com/image/386495676 ''Cut-rate Midway flights OKd by U.S.'' Chicago Tribune, December 3, 1977]</ref> The CAB announced in August 1977 that it would decide the Midway airport proceeding by August 1978, incredibly fast by prior CAB standards.{{sfn|Proceeding|1978|p=481}}
▲The August 1978 CAB ruling (against a backdrop of the [[Airline Deregulation Act]] going through Congress) was good news/bad news for Midway
But, notwithstanding early interest, few airlines made any subsequent moves toward Midway Airport, because deregulation put all networks up for grabs; there were more pressing concerns.<ref>[https://www.newspapers.com/image/385469790 ''Midway budget flights in spring'', Chicago Tribune, November 13, 1978]</ref> While Southwest continued to participate in Midway CAB cases, it took no practical steps towards service. Lamar Muse was long-gone, and Southwest would not enter Midway until 1985.<ref name="WNMDW"/> Even with the way relatively clear, Midway Airlines found it hard to raise money, Chicago investors were generally uninterested.<ref>[https://www.newspapers.com/image/386818628/ ''Lot of groundwork preceded first flight of new airline'', Chicago Tribune, October 31, 1979]</ref> On August 2, 1979, it announced it had raised $5.7mm from 16 private investors, only one of which was Chicago-based, allowing the airline to head towards a November 1, 1979 start date for a three-aircraft launch with 83-seat DC-9-10s.<ref>[https://www.newspapers.com/image/386926625/ ''New airline to offer low-cost rates from Midway to 3 cities'', Chicago Tribune, August 3, 1979]</ref> In September, the CAB gave 15 airlines (including, of all airlines, [[Wien Air Alaska]]) the right to fly those other 24 routes from Midway. One was [[FedEx Express|Federal Express]], having obtained Boeing 737-200QC aircraft with which it wanted to fly packages at night and passengers during the day.<ref>{{cite journal|journal=Economic Cases of the Civil Aeronautics Board|volume=83, Part 1|title=Chicago-Midway Expanded Service|date=September-October 1979|publisher=Civil Aeronautics Board|pages=272-412 |url=https://hdl.handle.net/2027/ien.35559002074676}}</ref> This was Fedex’s “Project Torso”, wherein founder [[Frederick W. Smith|Fred Smith]] explored passenger service before dropping the idea.<ref>{{cite book|first=Roger J.|last=Frock|title=Changing How the World Does Business|date=2006|location=San Francisco|publisher=Berrett-Koehler |pages=181-182|isbn=1576754138|url= https://www.bkconnection.com/books/title/changing-how-the-world-does-business}}</ref> Fedex had a highly profitable monopoly on overnight delivery growing at 40% per year.<ref>[https://www.newspapers.com/image/772214000 ''Federal Express Seeking Expansion Area'' Memphis Commercial Appeal, September 10, 1978]</ref> Passenger service was a distraction. But ultimately, none of the 15, other than Midway, did anything with this broad new authority.▼
▲
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===
Midway
Early Midway was marked by significant management turnover. Some founders (like Carlson)<ref name="Carlson"/> were gone by 1980 and in early 1982, Irving Tague took a leave of absence for “personal reasons,” with David Hinson becoming acting chair.<ref>[https://www.newspapers.com/image/387735764/ ''Midway Air chief takes leave'', Chicago Tribune, March 9, 1982]</ref>
===July 1982 – Spring 1985: Metrolink and Midway Express===
[[File:McDonnell Douglas DC-9-31, Midway Airlines JP5950381.jpg|thumb|Metrolink [[Douglas DC-9|DC-9-31]] [[LaGuardia Airport|New York LaGuardia]] October 1984]]
New Midway Chair/CEO Arthur Bass was part of the founding management, and a former president, of Federal Express.<ref name="bass1"/><ref name="bass2"/> Bass hired Neal Meehan, founding CEO of [[New York Air]], as president.<ref>[https://www.newspapers.com/image/388079855 ''Midway Airlines names president'', Chicago Tribune, October 11, 1982]</ref> They aimed to make Midway Airport the favored airport of the Chicago business traveler, similar to [[LaGuardia Airport|New York LaGuardia]] or [[Dallas Love Field]].<ref>[https://www.newspapers.com/image/387841686/ ''Midway Airlines out to polish its image, fly full-fare skies'', Chicago Tribune, January 5, 1983]</ref> Midway Airport, at the time, had no jetways, and suffered from a lack of maintenance on the part of the city.<ref>[https://www.newspapers.com/image/388700010 ''Midway to post first profit since 1982'', Chicago Tribune, June 21, 1984]</ref><ref>[https://www.newspapers.com/image/387921257 ''The puddleport…'', Chicago Tribune, April 26, 1982]</ref> Bass and Meehan instituted “Metrolink” branded all-business class service, with four-abreast seating, a “business center” at Midway airport, jetways and other amenities.<ref>[https://www.newspapers.com/image/388021110 ''Midway Airlines zeroes in on business traveler'', Chicago Tribune, May 20, 1983]</ref> Florida service, which Linkon started, was dropped.
[[File:Midway Express Boeing 737-2T4; N51AF@MIA, October 1984 CKF (5288235981).jpg|thumb|Midway Express [[Boeing 737-200|737-200]] at [[Miami International Airport|Miami]], October 1984]]
Metrolink failed. 1983 and 1984 financial results were poor, with losses greatly exceeding the cumulative profits of 1981 and 1982. Meanwhile, in 1984, reacting to a proposal from [[Air Florida]] executives, Midway acquired, in stages, the remains of that bankrupt carrier. There were two attractions (1) winter demand to offset the seasonality of the Metrolink system and (2) Air Florida’s slots at airports like LaGuardia and [[Ronald Reagan Washington National Airport|Washington National]].<ref>[https://www.newspapers.com/image/302267552 ''Air Florida, pilots ordered back to the negotiating table'', February 6, 1985]</ref> The deal nominally cost Midway $53mm, most of that ($35mm) for three Air Florida 737-200 aircraft.<ref>[https://www.newspapers.com/image/631427552 ''Objections Flood Air Florida-Midway deal'', Miami Herald, September 26, 1986]</ref><ref>[https://www.newspapers.com/image/631426686 ''Air Fla.-Midway Pact OK'd'', Miami Herald, September 26, 1986]</ref> In fact, Midway never paid for the airplanes, passing them to a lessor to purchase and leasing them back.<ref name="SLB">[https://www.newspapers.com/image/302203980 ''Air Florida name and logo now just a thing of the past'', Miami News, August 15, 1985]</ref> Midway provided working capital to get the remains of Air Florida back in the air in October 1984, which flew under contract to Midway (with Midway marketing and selling tickets) as “Midway Express” until August 1985, when the Air Florida purchase closed and Midway Express shifted to full Midway Airlines branding.<ref name="SLB"/>
Florida service worked. In Midway’s 1985 annual report, the airline said Midway Express made a profit of $1.4mm for Midway pre-merger.<ref>[https://www.departedflights.com/ML85reportP1.html Midway Airlines 1985 Annual Report, pg. 2]</ref> Money-losing Metrolink service made even less sense alongside profitable all-economy class Florida service. 1984 results also included a $1.5mm writeoff for an expensive abortive attempt to establish a helicopter service between Midway, O’Hare and [[Meigs Field]], to be called '''Chicago Airlink'''.<ref>[https://www.newspapers.com/image/388519557 ''Midway to write off Airlink try'', Chicago Tribune, December 29, 1984]</ref> In January 1985, Bass resigned, followed by Meehan in February, with David Hinson, a Midway founder and founding board member, taking over.<ref>[https://www.newspapers.com/image/388421477 ''Midway’s Bass resigns; Hinson to take reins'', Chicago Tribune, January 19, 1985]</ref><ref>[https://www.newspapers.com/image/388544762/ ''2d top Midway executive resigns'', Chicago Tribune, February 12, 1985]</ref> The airline announced cutbacks and layoffs (Midway Express was unaffected)<ref>[https://www.newspapers.com/image/388557309 ‘’Midway Airlines to slash flights, lay off employees’’, Chicago Tribune, February 13, 1985]</ref> and ended Metrolink.<ref>[https://www.newspapers.com/image/388440362 ''Midway out to shed strictly-business image'', Chicago Tribune, February 20, 1985]</ref> In May, Hinson warded off an attempted [[proxy fight]] by other (departed) founders, including Carlson, wanting to return the airline to its original business model.<ref name="morelike">[https://www.newspapers.com/image/388608885 ''Shareholders launch Midway fight'', Chicago Tribune, May 22, 1985]</ref> At the time of Bass’s departure, Hinson defended Metrolink, but one of Midway’s responses against dissident shareholders was to note that the Bass team was gone.<ref>[https://www.newspapers.com/image/388580646/ ''Midway lawsuit strafes dissident stockholders'', Chicago Tribune, May 29, 1985]</ref>
===Mid-1985 – June 1989: profitability as a conventional airline===
[[File:Midway Airlines Boeing 737-200 JetPix.jpg|thumb|Midway Airlines Boeing 737-200]]
Hinson wanted Midway to be “more like other airlines,”<ref name="morelike"/> and Midway became a conventional hub airline, the differentiator being Midway Airport. The DC-9s were converted to two-class seating<ref>[https://www.newspapers.com/image/388949289 ''Management brightens Midway horizon'', Chicago Tribune, April 28, 1986]</ref> and Midway built out its network to both business and leisure destinations (cities like Las Vegas<ref>[https://www.newspapers.com/image/388840302 ''Midway Air to add jets'', Chicago Tribune, May 16, 1986]</ref> and Phoenix<ref>[https://www.newspapers.com/image/388950979 Midway advertisement for new Phoenix service, Chicago Tribune, May 14, 1987]</ref>) from coast to coast, acquiring [[McDonnell Douglas MD-87]]s, the short, high-performance version of the [[McDonnell Douglas MD-80|MD-80]], to allow the airline to reach to the west coast, at the time a non-trivial feat from Midway Airport’s short runways. Midway acquired its own regional airline subsidiary, Midway Commuter, to fly from Midway to smaller cities around Chicago. 75% of Midway Commuter passengers connected to mainline flights at Midway airport.<ref>[https://www.departedflights.com/ML88reportcover.html Midway Airlines 1988 Annual Report, pg. 13, accessed April 16, 2024]</ref> Midway had its own maintenance facility in Miami (an Air Florida legacy) <ref>[https://www.newspapers.com/image/388814322/ ''Things are looking up for buoyant Midway'', Chicago Tribune, December 29, 1986]</ref> and built a simulator facility.<ref>[https://www.departedflights.com/ML88reportcover.html Midway Airlines 1988 Annual Report, pg. 17, accessed April 16, 2024]</ref> The strategy produced profits, but margins that never challenged that achieved in 1981. However, during this period much larger airlines like [[Eastern Air Lines|Eastern]], [[Pan Am]], [[America West Airlines]], [[Continental Airlines|Continental]], [[People Express]], etc, all made (at least at times) heavy losses, and other high profile names like [[Pacific Southwest Airlines]] and [[Western Airlines]] merged out of existence. Midway stood out just by surviving.<ref name="prospers">[https://www.newspapers.com/image/388896550/ ''Midway prospers by remaining small'', Chicago Tribune, November 27, 1987]</ref>
On a June 1988 weekday, Midway scheduled 116 nonstop flights into Midway Airport from 25 airports, along with 75 Midway Connection nonstops from 17 other airports. They flew Chicago Midway (MDW) - Miami (MIA) - Saint Croix (STX) - St. Thomas (STT) round trip as well as Chicago Midway (MDW) - Fort Lauderdale (FLL) - Nassau (NAS) round trip
===June 1989 - November 1991: untimely overextension leads to demise===
==Legacy==
▲On a June 1988 weekday, Midway scheduled 116 nonstop flights into Midway Airport from 25 airports, along with 75 Midway Connection nonstops from 17 other airports. They flew Chicago Midway (MDW) - Miami (MIA) - Saint Croix (STX) - St. Thomas (STT) round trip as well as Chicago Midway (MDW) - Fort Lauderdale (FLL) - Nassau (NAS) round trip ; aside from those, all Chicago flights were nonstop to and from Midway Airport. Midway Airlines′ peak year was 1989, when it flew 10.1 billion revenue passenger-kilometers, compared to 0.6 billion in 1981.<ref>''Air Transport World''</ref>
[[File:Southwest 737-200 N702ML.jpg|thumb|
Having let Midway collapse, Northwest faced significant political anger in Chicago while Southwest, just by adding some service and hiring what Midway employees it could, looked good by contrast.<ref>[https://www.newspapers.com/image/389691864 ''Southwest to fill some of Midway void'', November 15, 1991]</ref> Midway Airlines had long proved there was a market at Midway Airport, Southwest wanted to add more Midway service but was constrained by a need to address other opportunities. In early 1991, USAir and American Airlines exited most of their California networks, inherited from [[Pacific Southwest Airlines]] and [[AirCal]] respectively, and Southwest grew its planned 1991 fleet expansion plan from 11 to 18 aircraft in response (to a total of 124). 1991 also marked the bankruptcy of [[America West Airlines]] and its subsequent reduction in capacity in [[Phoenix, Arizona|Phoenix]], where Southwest and America West were fierce rivals, opening up yet more opportunity.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.southwestairlinesinvestorrelations.com/~/media/Files/S/Southwest-IR/documents/company-reports-ar/ar-1991.pdf|title=Southwest Airlines 1991 Annual Report|page=F1|publisher=Southwest Airlines|website=Southwest Airlines Investor Relations|access-date=April 16, 2024}}</ref> Nonetheless, that moment was the start of Southwest’s dominance at Midway Airport. As of March 2024, Southwest's Midway market share was over 85%.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.fitchratings.com/research/us-public-finance/fitch-rates-chicago-midway-airport-il-senior-lien-revs-a-outlook-stable-08-03-2024|website=fitchratings.com|title=Fitch Rates Chicago Midway Airport's (IL) Senior Lien Revs 'A'; Outlook Stable|date=8 March 2024|access-date=16 June 2024|publisher=Fitch Ratings}}</ref>
▲The long slow decline of [[Eastern Air Lines]] ended in March 1989 with a debilitating strike, tipping it into Chapter 11.<ref>[https://www.nytimes.com/1989/03/10/us/eastern-requests-bankrupt-status-to-cut-strike-loss.html ''Eastern Requests Bankrupt Status To Cut Strike Loss'', New York Times, March 10, 1989]</ref> In June, Midway bought Eastern’s Philadelphia gates (and certain other assets, such as routes to Toronto and Montreal from Philly) as well as 16 DC-9 aircraft for $210mm.<ref>[https://www.newspapers.com/image/389233701 ''$200 million Midway offer on Eastern'', Chicago Tribune, June 1, 1989]</ref><ref>{{cite news|last=Salpukas|first=Agis|title=Eastern to Sell Operations in Philadelphia to Midway|url=https://www.nytimes.com/1989/06/17/business/eastern-to-sell-operations-in-philadelphia-to-midway.html|access-date=April 10, 2014|newspaper=New York Times|date=June 17, 1989}}</ref><ref name="BUY">[https://www.newspapers.com/image/389246474 ''Midway to buy Eastern property in Philadelphia'', Chicago Tribune, June 17, 1989]</ref> Further investment included hiring, refurbishing the aircraft and the former Eastern space in Philly, and heavy marketing to introduce east coast residents to Midway. Hinson’s rationale was that Midway was reaching the limits of growth in Chicago, it needed a second hub and this was its best opportunity.<ref>[https://www.newspapers.com/image/389289734 ''Midway sees return to profitability in second half of ‘90'', Chicago Tribune, May 11, 1990]</ref> The Philly hub was supposed to help drive Midway annual revenue to $2bn within two years.<ref>[https://www.newspapers.com/image/389250334 ''10 years later, Midway flying high'', Chicago Tribune, November 2, 1989]</ref> Philly was one of several major commitments in 1989. Midway ordered 29 [[McDonnell Douglas MD-82]]s for a nominal $900mm<ref>[https://www.newspapers.com/image/390245532 ''Midway places major jet order'', Chicago Tribune, March 31, 1989]</ref> as well as a nominal $244mm for 33 [[Dornier 328]] turboprops for Midway Connection.<ref>[https://www.newspapers.com/image/389242340 ''Midway to buy 33 airplanes'', Chicago Tribune, October 7, 1989]</ref> It also reintroduced first class on all routes.<ref>[https://www.newspapers.com/image/389460016 ''Classy Press Conference'', Chicago Tribune, May 19, 1989]</ref> Midway was living large.
in 1987, David Hinson said that the key to Midway's survival was staying small and keeping out of the way of the big carriers. About the airline business he said, “if you are careful and prudent, you can survive and do relatively well.”<ref name="prospers"/> As the Philadelphia strategy turned sour, David Hinson repeatedly defended Midway as being the victim of circumstance.<ref name="casualty"/><ref name="rather"/><ref>[https://www.newspapers.com/image/389564895/ ''Midway’s hopes on hold'', October 25, 1990]</ref> The circumstances facing the US airline business in the early 1990s were indeed poor, as reflected in deep industry losses during this period.<ref name="a4a">[https://www.airlines.org/dataset/annual-results-u-s-passenger-airlines/ Airlines for America U.S. Passenger Airline Select Financial Results, accessed April 15, 2024]</ref> But the 1989 decision to bulk up Midway and attack the much larger USAir was the exact opposite of what Hinson advocated only two years earlier and the carrier's end was a direct result of that.
▲[[US Airways|USAir]] was the dominant Philly incumbent and had little desire to accommodate Midway.<ref name="BUY"/> At the end of 1989, Midway had 61 jets vs 441 for USAir.<ref name="ATA90"/> It wasn't a fair fight but Midway picked it. The Philly hub launched November 15, 1989.<ref>[https://www.newspapers.com/image/389224986/ ''Midway spreads its wings to Philly'', Chicago Tribune, November 16, 1989]</ref> Fuel prices were up significantly in early 1990 over 1989, while Florida fares dropped $30.<ref>[https://www.newspapers.com/image/389287608/ ''Losses and all, Midway would still rather be in Philadelphia'', Chicago Tribune, May 18, 1990]]</ref> Then the US entered a [[Early 1990s recession in the United States|recession in July 1990]]. [[Iraq]] invaded [[Kuwait]] on August 2, pitching the US into the [[Gulf War]], inducing an [[1990 oil price shock|oil price shock]] and an immediate decline in international travel, which only accelerated once fighting broke out.<ref>[https://www.nytimes.com/1991/01/27/travel/travel-advisory-gulf-war-leads-to-a-30-drop-in-world-travel.html ''Travel advisory; Gulf War Leads To a 30% Drop In World Travel'', New York Times, January 27, 1991]</ref> On October 19, less than a year after starting the hub, Midway announced it was leaving Philadelphia. Oddly, USAir paid Midway $68mm for the former Eastern Philly gates (and Canadian routes).<ref>[https://www.newspapers.com/image/389496791 ''Midway Air’s 2nd hub casualty of fuel costs'', Chicago Tribune, October 20, 1990]</ref><ref name=NYTquitPHLin1990>{{cite news|last=Berg|first=Eric N.|title=Midway Air Leaving Philadelphia|url=https://www.nytimes.com/1990/10/20/business/midway-air-leaving-philadelphia.html|access-date=April 10, 2014|newspaper=New York Times|date=October 20, 1990}}</ref> Had USAir not paid for them, Midway would have collapsed even sooner and USAir would likely have obtained the Philly assets for nothing; it's not like there were other bidders. USAir's payment was small next to Midway’s total Philly [[stranded asset|stranded investment]] but it was something. Midway’s 1990 losses vastly exceeded the sum total of every profitable year Midway ever had, but in fact the previous record loss in 1989 was also due to Philly: Midway had made a small profit in the first three quarters of 1989 and the 1989 fourth quarter loss was Philly-driven.<ref>{{cite journal|journal=Air Carrier Financial Statistics Quarterly|title=Fourth Quarter and Twelve Months Ended December 1990 and 1989|date=December 31, 1990|publisher=US Department of Transportation |page=46 |url=https://hdl.handle.net/2027/nyp.33433016789764}}</ref><ref>[https://www.newspapers.com/image/389402710 Midway Airlines item under ''Earnings'', Chicago Tribune, February 21, 1990]</ref>
After Midway Airlines, David Hinson went on to work for [[McDonnell Douglas]] and served as the head of the [[Federal Aviation Administration]] under President [[Bill Clinton]].<ref>[https://www.newspapers.com/image/418155363 ''Midway CEO lands FAA post'', May 14, 1993]</ref>
▲[[File:Southwest 737-200 N702ML.jpg|thumb|Boeing 737-200 in Midway/ Southwest Airlines hybrid livery.]]
▲By March 1991, Midway filed for Chapter 11, Hinson describing it as a “minor setback”. In October the bankruptcy court approved a $175mm Northwest takeover deal, including assuming remaining aircraft and employees. The court rejected a smaller, $110mm bid by Southwest, which did not offer to take aircraft or employees. Midway had lost $36mm since filing Chapter 11, against projected income of $6.5mm, and was down to $4mm in cash.<ref>[https://www.newspapers.com/image/389386251/ ''Northwest lands Midway Air'', Chicago Tribune, October 9, 1991]</ref>. Northwest ran newspaper ads saying customers could book Midway with confidence but a month after agreeing to the deal, it pulled out, accusing Midway of showing inaccurate revenue figures for 1990 and ostensibly worried about environmental liability at Midway Airport. Why Northwest pulled out is unclear. It had huge debts of its own, having been taken private in an untimely LBO in 1989.<ref>[https://www.nytimes.com/1989/06/20/business/northwest-airlines-accepts-offer-of-3.6-billion-by-investor-group.html ''Northwest Airlines Accepts Offer Of $3.6 Billion by Investor Group'', New York Times, June 20, 1989]</ref>. Some believed Northwest saw the Midway deal as risking a simultaneous deal to get funding from the state of Minnesota.<ref>[https://www.nytimes.com/1991/11/17/business/business-diary-november-10-15.html ''Business Diary November 10-15'', New York Times, November 17, 1991]</ref>. Whatever the reason, Midway ceased flying November 13, 1991.<ref>[https://www.newspapers.com/image/389681010/ ''Midway Air halts operations'', Chicago Tribune, November 14, 1991]</ref>
Gordon Linkon, the president who achieved Midway's highest annual operating margin in 1981, went on to found [[Florida Express]].<ref>[https://www.newspapers.com/image/222132514 ''Florida Express From the Ground Up'', Orlando Sentinel, July 9, 1984]</ref>
▲The airline was dissolved in 1992. A group of investors bought the Midway Airlines name and started a [[Midway Airlines (1993–2003)|new airline]] using the name in 1993. That airline went bankrupt in 2003.<ref name="wp81501"/>
==Destinations==
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'''Canada'''
* [[Montreal]] ([[Montréal-Dorval International Airport]])
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* [[Omaha]] ([[Eppley Airfield]])
* [[Orange County, California|Orange County]] ([[John Wayne Airport]])
* [[Orlando, Florida|Orlando]] ([[Orlando International Airport]])
* [[Philadelphia]] ([[Philadelphia International Airport]])
* [[Phoenix, Arizona|Phoenix]] ([[Phoenix Sky Harbor International Airport]])
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* [[West Lafayette, Indiana]] ([[Purdue University Airport]])
* [[West Palm Beach]] ([[Palm Beach International Airport]])
{{col div end}}
==Fleet==
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==Midway
In 1987 Midway Airlines purchased commuter air carrier '''Fischer Brothers Aviation''' based in Galion, Ohio, and moved the entire operation to Springfield, Illinois. Fischer Brothers Aviation had previously operated [[Allegheny Commuter]] service for [[Allegheny Airlines]] and successor [[USAir]] and then began operating [[Northwest Airlink]] service on behalf of [[Northwest Airlines]]. The initial move consisted of the Fischer Brothers management team (including Vice President of Operations Armando Cardenas, Chief Pilot Mark Zweidinger, Vice President of Customer Service Mark Fisher, Director of Maintenance Craig Anderson and Personnel Manager Cynthia Baldwin) and was led by Midway Airlines executive Richard Pfennig. Offers of employment were extended to the pilots and maintenance team that wanted to relocate. Gordon Jones, Vice President of Maintenance and Jerry Turpstra, Chief Inspector joined the management group in June 1987. Mr. Pfennig took control of the operation and was able to quickly get the company through certification flights. In May 1987 the commuter started scheduled passenger flights. The initial operation consisted of 21 employees, the original seven [[Dornier 228]] turboprop aircraft and eventually ended with 125 employees, 28 Dornier aircraft and 13 [[Embraer EMB-120 Brasilia]] turboprop aircraft. Midway Connection operated to cities in the Midwest states, including Wisconsin (Milwaukee, Madison, Green Bay, Oshkosh), Michigan (Traverse City, Grand Rapids, Muskegeon, Lansing, Kalamazoo), Indiana (South Bend, Ft. Wayne, Indianapolis, Lafayette), Illinois (Bloomington, Champaign, Moline-Quad Cities, Peoria and their home base Springfield, Illinois), and Ohio (Toledo). This Midway Connection service was a wholly owned subsidiary of Midway Airlines, and although it was an independent operation, it was completely operated as a "feeder" for the "mainline" operation via a [[code sharing]] agreement. Dispatch and Maintenance for the airline was conducted in Springfield, Illinois, while reservations were supported through Midway Airlines in Chicago utilizing the SABRE reservations system.
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{{Commons category|Midway Airlines}}
{{Commons category|Midway Connection}}
*{{cite web|title=Midway Airlines (USA)|publisher=Airline Timetable Images|url=https://www.timetableimages.com/ttimages/ml3.htm|website=www.timetableimages.com|language=en}}
*{{cite web|title=Midway Airlines last day of operation 11/16/1991 (Edited)|publisher=acftmxman |url=https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RI8BReTJBjc |website=youtube.com |language=en |format=video |date=March 23, 2021}}
*{{cite web|title=Midway Airlines Commercials playlist|publisher=Aviation Commercials|url=https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PL3QwopPRHOLUWGim6_A88dudQGYDHyB-b |website=youtube.com |language=en |format=video |date=October 15, 2021}}
*{{cite web|title=1983 Midway Airlines "The Mid Way" Commercial|publisher=United Jet Mainliner|url=https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yqWBTc4PVLo |website=youtube.com |language=en |format=video |date=February 28, 2016}}
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[[Category:Defunct companies based in Chicago]]
[[Category:1976 establishments in Illinois]]
[[Category:Airlines based in Illinois]]
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