Goodbye Midwest, hello AirTran

This is not good news for Midwest. This may be the straw that breaks the camel's back-

Midwest Air earnings plunge 44.6%

Hurt by what it called "industrywide pricing weakness," Midwest Air Group Inc. (MEH) said today earnings fell 44.6% in the second quarter, well below Wall Street expectations.

The Oak Creek-based parent of Midwest and Midwest Connect Airlines said net income dropped to $4.87 million, or 19 cents a share, from $8.80 million, or 39 cents, a year earlier. Revenue grew 10% to $194.5 million from $176.9 million.

Two analysts surveyed by Zacks Investment Research had expected earnings of 36 cents a share.

"While the pricing environment was challenging, demand for travel remained strong in the second quarter," said Timothy E. Hoeksema, Midwest Air chairman and chief executive officer. "Going forward, we are continuing to roll out our wide-ranging 2007 strategic plan, which includes aggressive route expansion, frequency increases and equipment upgrades.

"Midwest is fighting a hostile takeover offer from AirTran Holdings Inc. (AAI), which earlier in the day posted a 30% gain in second-quarter earnings, beating analyst expectations.

Midwest is the leading carrier at Milwaukee's Mitchell International Airport.

This is sad. I was out purchasing tickets to DC today- the Midwest tickets were $200 more than the Air Tran tickets.

I bought Air Tran. The cookies are not that good on Midwest.