Midwest Air Group Inc. chief executive officer Timothy Hoeksema sent a letter today to "set the record straight" about AirTran Holdings Inc.'s hostile takeover bid for the company.
Hoeksema said his Oak Creek-based firm, which is the parent company of Midwest Airlines, has been the victim of "many false and misleading claims made by AirTran."
Hoeksema criticized AirTran's discount airline business model.
"AirTran's low-cost carrier business model is in trouble. By virtually any metric, AirTran's business is deteriorating. AirTran is desperate to buy Midwest to stave off further erosion of its business. AirTran's profits are deteriorating while Midwest's are improving," Hoeksema said.
Hoeksema also said AirTran's claims that it could add 74 new flights out of General Mitchell International Airport if it acquires Midwest Airlines were unrealistic. He said the company has a track record of over-promising and under-delivering when it enters new markets, including Dallas/Fort Worth.
"AirTran leaves a trail of broken promises in markets it enters with great fanfare. AirTran typically promises growth and enhanced service in new markets, only to quietly retreat when it can't keep its word. Since 2004, AirTran has exited 29 markets it had promised to serve, sometimes returning in a scaled-down version and sometimes not," Hoeksema said. .
"Now AirTran wants everyone to believe that it will add and retain 74 daily departures and 29 new destinations out of Milwaukee alone. Twenty-three of those markets are smaller than the smallest market AirTran currently serves. In fact, AirTran's speculative plan for Milwaukee would have more flights and many more destinations than its current operation in Atlanta - a city much larger than Milwaukee. Why believe AirTran this time?" Hoeksema said.
Furthermore, Hoeksema said Orlando, Fla.-based AirTran provides "an inferior product and inferior service."
To read the complete letter, visit http://phx.corporate-ir.net/phoenix.zhtml?c=88626&p=irol-newsArticle&ID=968327&highlight=.
Hoeksema says AirTran is 'inferior' and 'desperate'
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