Midway Airlines (1976–1991)

This article is about the Midway Airlines that operated from 1976 to 1991. For the Midway Airlines that operated from 1993 to 2003, see Midway Airlines (1993-2003).

Midway Airlines

IATA ICAO Callsign ML MDW Midway
Founded	1976
Ceased operations	1991
Hubs	Chicago Midway International Airport
Frequent-flyer program	FlyersFirst
Fleet size	60
Destinations	40
Headquarters	Chicago, Illinois
Key people	David R. Hinson (CEO)

Midway Airlines was founded on October 13, 1976, by investor Irving T. Tague. Although it received its operating certificate from the Civil Aeronautics Board (CAB) prior to the passage of the Airline Deregulation Act in 1978, it is widely recognized as the first post-deregulation start-up. The airline commenced operations in 1979.

The airline was intended to breathe new life into Chicago Midway International Airport, then called Chicago Midway Airport, which had lost most of its scheduled flights to O'Hare International Airport. Midway Airlines and the revitalized airport were advertised as a trouble-free alternative to O'Hare, and both of these spurred re-development and growth on Chicago's South Side. The airport was billed as a convenient ten to fifteen minute drive from downtown Chicago.

History

Following the Airline Deregulation Act of 1978, Midway first emerged as a discount carrier. It was noted for its low fares and ease of connections at Midway Airport. The airline purchased three DC-9s from TWA and began flying to Cleveland, Kansas City, and Detroit. The scheduled service was an instant success and growth continued at a fast pace. In 1980, five more DC-9s were purchased and service was expanded to cities such as New York and Washington D.C. During the 1980s the airline adopted a combination of all-leather two-by-two seating to business markets and all-coach seating to vacation destinations. This idea was eventually dropped due to the impact on revenue caused by eliminating seats, and the confusion it created in the minds of connecting passengers.

The carrier expanded its services to both coasts and the Caribbean, via the purchase of the assets of Air Florida, in 1984, which had gone into bankruptcy. It proved to be good mix of business and vacation travel revenue.

Midway Airlines flourished under the leadership of David R. Hinson (CEO 1985 to 1991), for the period 1985 - 1990; however, efforts to open a second hub at Philadelphia International in 1990, proved unsuccessful.

In 1986, the company assisted in setting up a highly successful regional affiliate, Midway Connection, as a feeder to the airport from smaller communities in Illinois, Indiana, Wisconsin, and Michigan. This regional carrier was established following the bankruptcy of Chicago Air, a regional carrier which attempted a similar, but independent feeder operation in 1986.

Midway was noted for friendly employees and attentive service, and its Chicago South Side passengers were fiercely loyal to their hometown airline. Some of the signature inflight service items were after-dinner chocolate wafer mints and hot hand towels to the entire cabin, both of which had originally caught on with Midway's business clientele.

The airline purchased the hub operation of Eastern Air Lines at Philadelphia International Airport in 1990. However, this expansion, in direct competition with the Philadelphia hub of US Airways, coupled with the run-up of airline fuel prices during the Persian Gulf War in 1991, strained the company's financial resources. The airline filed Chapter 11 and attempted to reach agreement with Northwest Airlines for a purchase. Midway ceased operations and filed under Chapter 7 bankruptcy laws in November, 1991. Settlement was completed in summer, 2005.

At the height of operations, the airline flew to the Western US cities of Los Angeles (LAX), John Wayne--Orange County (SNA), Las Vegas (LAS), Phoenix (PHX) and Denver (DEN); in the Midwest, Minneapolis (MSP), St. Louis (STL), Kansas City (MCI), Omaha (OMA), Des Moines(DSM), Chicago-Midway (MDW), Indianapolis(IND), Cincinnati(CVG), Cleveland (CLE), Columbus, OH (CMH), and Detroit (DTW); Dallas/Ft. Worth (DFW), New Orleans (MSY), Memphis (MEM) and Atlanta(ATL)in the South; Boston (BOS), Hartford (BDL), Pittsburgh (PIT), Philadelphia (PHL), New York-LaGuardia (LGA), and Washington D.C.-National (DCA) in the East; and nine cities in Florida: Tampa (TPA), St. Petersburg (PIE), Ft. Myers (RSW), Sarasota, Orlando (MCO), Jacksonville (JAX), West Palm Beach (PBI), Ft. Lauderdale (FLL), and Miami (MIA); and Nassau (NAS), St. Croix (STX) and St. Thomas (STT) in the Caribbean. It also served Toronto (YYZ) and Montreal (YUL) out of Philadelphia International.

Midway used the IATA airline designator ML.

Historical Fleet

• 64 - Douglas DC-9-14, DC-9-15, DC-9-31, DC-9-32
• 16 - MD-81, MD-82, MD-87, MD-88
• 16 - Boeing 737-200

Midway Metrolink

During the 1983-1985 period, Midway experimented with a one-class business service called "Midway Metrolink" on some of its flights . The seating was a 2x2 seat arrangement on DC-9s, which is usually fitted with 2x3 seating.

Accidents

Midway Airlines did not have an aircraft accident in its 12 years of service.

Frequent Flyer Program

Midway operated a frequent flyer program called FlyersFirst. Upon cessation of service, the program ended and mileage credits were not transferred to any other program .