Midwest Express Airlines (Milwaukee General Mitchell) has raised USD1 million dollars in funding as it attempts to commence operations.
In an SEC filing on May 27, the start-up said three investors had “invested in the offering”. The company said it accepts a minimum of USD200,000 in outside investment.
Midwest Express aims to launch as a virtual carrier using the brand of Midwest Airlines (Milwaukee General Mitchell), which merged into Frontier Airlines (F9, Denver International) in 2009. Midwest Airlines ceased operations in 2010.
In May 2018, Midwest Express raised USD750,000 in a funding round led by two investors, according to an SEC filing, and in July 2019 the airline entered into an agreement with Elite Airways (MNU, Portland International Jetport) ahead of a late 2019 or early 2020 launch, with Elite to provide aircraft, pilots and crew. However, the contract was terminated on December 31, 2019. As Elite only returned a portion of Midwest’s deposit, Elite was then ordered to pay Midwest Express USD150,000, according to Milwaukee County Circuit Court records from March 2020.
The coronavirus pandemic has derailed plans to commence operations. “Because of the pandemic, things have not moved as quickly as we would like, but we remain focused on fundraising. We continue forward with those efforts, as reported in the SEC filing. While we do not have a firm date or timeframe for a launch of our service, we are committed to bringing back the best care in the air,” Midwest Express said in a statement to BizTimes published on May 29.
Midwest Express president Greg Aretakis on March 9 said after the Elite partnership ended: “We are in substantial discussions with other airline operators to bring back non-stop service to Milwaukee. We have received a tremendous amount of support from the business community and former passengers who tell us that they need better options for air travel in Milwaukee, and we intend to deliver it.”
