BRIEF: Airlines to expand services: Midwest boosts flights; AirTran adds destinations

Aug. 29--AirTran Airways and Midwest Airlines both said Tuesday that they would boost service to and from Milwaukee.

AirTran's expansion is the larger one. The carrier, based in Orlando, Fla., will add a new destination, Phoenix, to its offerings from Milwaukee. The daily, non-stop, seasonal service will begin Dec. 20 and run through the cold-weather months.

AirTran also said it will begin daily, non-stop, seasonal service to Fort Myers, Fla., on Dec. 20. Last winter, the airline offered seasonal service to Fort Myers once a week.

Midwest said it will add a round-trip flight each weekday to Philadelphia and Omaha, Neb. The additions will bring the number of flights from Milwaukee to each city to five on weekdays.

AirTran spent much of the last nine months trying to engineer a hostile takeover of Midwest.

But Midwest held out, agreeing this month to be purchased by Texas investment firm TPG Capital. Northwest Airlines Corp. is backing TPG in the planned acquisition.

To see more of the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel, or to subscribe to the newspaper, go to http://www.jsonline.com. Copyright (c) 2007, Milwaukee Journal Sentinel Distributed by McClatchy-Tribune Information Services. For reprints, email tmsreprints@permissionsgroup.com, 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.