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Airline serving Nebraska is folding(Omaha World-Herald (NE) (KRT) Via Acquire Media NewsEdge) May 15--Air Midwest is ending its service to small cities in several states, including Grand Island and McCook in Nebraska. The airline currently operates a route connecting McCook, Grand Island, Omaha and Kansas City. Two other small airlines will operate limited service from the Grand Island and McCook airports. Air Midwest, whose parent company is Mesa Air Group Inc., flies to 27 mostly small cities. The airline will discontinue all flights by June 30, becoming the sixth U.S. carrier to halt operations since March, as fuel prices reach record highs and travel demand weakens. Air Midwest's service includes a government program that subsidizes carriers for operating at mainly small, rural airports. The unit also makes some flights for US Airways Group Inc. In the case of Grand Island, Hawaii-based Island Air will operate two daily flights from Central Nebraska Regional Airport to Kansas City. Mike Olson, the airport's executive director, said the new service will start in mid- to late August. "We haven't nailed down an exact start date yet," Olson said. During the transition in June, Air Midwest will fly from Grand Island to Kansas City. Wyoming-based Great Lakes Airlines will offer three flights daily from McCook's municipal airport to Denver starting June 1. Two flights a day will fly back to McCook. Kurt Fritsch, McCook's city manager, said Great Lakes operated a route from McCook to Denver a few years ago, before Mesa got the service contract and offered the route connecting McCook, Grand Island, Omaha and Kansas City. In addition to the Nebraska cities, Air Midwest flies to Little Rock, Ark.; DuBois, Pa.; Merced, Calif.; and Joplin, Mo. Mesa is halting Air Midwest after saying in January that it would start to liquidate the unit, which began operations 43 years ago. Phoenix-based Mesa said it received no "credible offers" after it began seeking a buyer last year for the unprofitable unit or its 20 Beechcraft 1900D turboprop planes. "The losses were too great and there was no real end in sight," said Brian Gillman, Mesa's general counsel. "We reached the point where we couldn't continue to fund the loss of millions of dollars." Air Midwest will turn over its federal operating certificates to the U.S. government, and Mesa will continue efforts to sell or lease the airplanes and sell other assets, Gillman said. An announcement may be made "shortly" involving the sale of some of the planes, he said. Aloha Airgroup Inc., ATA Airlines Inc., Skybus Airlines Inc., Eos Airlines Inc. and Champion Air all have shut down since March, primarily citing the impact of jet fuel prices, which have jumped 87 percent in the past year. Frontier Airlines Holdings Inc. filed for bankruptcy protection and is continuing flights. This report includes material from Bloomberg News. To see more of the Omaha World-Herald, or to subscribe to the newspaper, go to http://www.omaha.com. Copyright (c) 2008, Omaha World-Herald, Neb. Distributed by McClatchy-Tribune Information Services. For reprints, email [email protected], call 800-374-7985 or 847-635-6550, send a fax to 847-635-6968, or write to The Permissions Group Inc., 1247 Milwaukee Ave., Suite 303, Glenview, IL 60025, USA. |