Midwest Airlines Boeing 717 Cockpit View of an ILS Approach, KATL
June 22010
This is the ILS approach to Runway 26R in Atlanta, shot July of 2008. We were supposed to have arrived before sunset, but were delayed on the ground in Milwaukee by several hours due to thunderstorms in the ATL area. I was the First Officer (Pilot Not Flying) on this leg which meant I was working the radios and initiating the callouts you hear on the video. We had a company pilot in the jumpseat; I handed him my Canon ELPH and he shot this sweet video. The Captain (Pilot Flying) did a great job that night, too. His transition to the flare was so smooth you can hear the computer call out every increment from 50′ to 5′ above touchdown. This was a great plane to fly. It is a travesty that this airline is no longer in business.
Duration : 0:2:39
FLY MIDWEST! “The best care in the air” Kansas City to Milwaukee on Midwest Airlines’ B717. Includes some taxiing, and a great takeoff. I purposely compressed the video to a medium-low quality in order to keep the file easy to upload, while not having to sacrifice audio quality.
Well here is a vid of Midwest Airline 717-2BL.
When I originally made this video, YX (Midwest Airlines) was an amazing airline. They operated 37 aircraft and flew to major cities across the United States. They had Skyway airlines operate Fairchild 328 jets and Beech 1900 turboprops for them under the Midwest Connect name. Skywest airlines had also just begun operating CRJ-200s for them under the Midwest Connect name. Sadly in 9 months (I am writing this as of September 5, 2008) the once proud luxury airline has changed into a struggling carrier. Skyway airlines has seized operations, the MD-80s will in a few days be grounded, and 16 of the 25 717s will be returned to Boeing. Several leisure markets were cut and several non-stop west coast flights have either been cut or changed into 1 stop flights through MCI (Kansas City). YX will now charge around 40-80 dollars for their famous “2X2 Signature Seating.” There will now be 40 “Signature Seats” on their 717s and 59 “Saver Seats” which is basically economy class on any other airline. Due to the grounding of 16 of its 25 717 aircraft, YX will now contract with Republic Airlines to provide 12 E170 aircraft. This move has resulted in the layoff of many of its employees. The airline will now employ only 45% of the employees it had at the beginning of this year. The seating on the E170s will not change and will be just like it was when the planes were operating for other carriers. No wide seats, and no increased seat pitch. YX plans to eventually transfer the 12 E170s into its fleet and recall some of its laid off employees. I am so sad to see this happen to such a hard working group of people who worked so hard to make Midwest Airlines the successful airline it once was. YX had such a great reputation especially in Milwaukee. People viewed the airline as every-seat being first class. The factors that turned YX into the struggling airline it is today were completely out of the control of its fantastic employees. They were the result of high fuel prices and poor management decisions. I wish you all the best of luck and I hope you are able to “spread your wings” at another airline doing the jobs that you all loved in the good days. High fuel prices were inevitable, and virtually every single airline had to make changes. Had AirTran purchased YX, I am close to positive the outcome would have been better than this. Very soon, 79% of flying under the YX name will be outsourced and operated by Midwest Connect (Skywest Airlines and Republic Airlines). Its shocking to see YX go from 37 planes to 9 planes in one short year. Good luck YX.