A local airline consultant, and former Midwest employee, has reservations about the new Midwest Express airline. The new company announced three initial destinations earlier this week. Service is expected to start later this year.
“I don’t believe this plan holds water,” said Jay Sorensen, president of IdeaWorks Company.
“Midwest is not an airline, it is a marketing company,” Sorensen told WTMJ’s Scott Warras on Friday. “There is nothing inherently wrong with (contracting with a third party to provide flights). But it is certainly a shortcut to the task of raising millions of dollars.”
When third parties are involved, they will want to get paid even if flights aren’t full, according to Sorensen.
“There are very few marketing companies that turn into successful airlines,” he said.
Sorensen worked for the former Midwest Express for more than a decade.
Calls to Midwest were not returned.
The announced return of Midwest Express Airlines to Milwaukee garnered plenty of excitement, but an airline industry consultant says they’ll face an uphill battle towards success… pic.twitter.com/2QZRnsLSWo
— 620wtmj (@620wtmj) August 30, 2019