In 1995 Great Lakes began a program of significantly realigning our United Express route system and expanding into new areas of operation. In order to diversify from the economic reliance on a single geographic region, Great Lakes has reestablished the Great Lakes Airlines marketing identity and invested in a code sharing relationship with Midway Airlines at the former American Airlines hub at Raleigh-Durham. Concurrently, unprofitable service in several Essential Air Service and other historical markets has been reduced or eliminated. A comparison of the allocation of aircraft resources, in schedule effective May 1, to that of one year earlier follows:
| United Express | Great Lakes Airlines | Midway Connection | |
| May 1, 1996 | ||||
Beech 1900 | 23 | 6 | 7 | |
Embraer 120 | 9 | - | 3 | |
TOTAL | 32 | 6 | 10 | |
| Cities Served |
| 58 | 10 | 12 |
| May 1, 1995 | ||||
Beech 1900 | 32 | - | - | |
| Embraer 120 | 5 | - | - |
| TOTAL | 37 | - | - | |
| Cities Served | 60 | - | - |
The future of the 19 seat aircraft in scheduled passenger service has recently become an industry economic focal point. The
unique nature of our Beech 1900 fleet versus that of other 19 seat aircraft is its true margin of ASM production capability
(payload over distance). An analysis of our 9 years experience with the Beech 1900 points out that our successes have been
based upon exceptional annualized ASM production per aircraft. The ability to fly substantially longer range missions,
accommodating a full load of passengers and cargo, sets the Beech 1900 apart from other 19 seat aircraft. In fact, the 1900
all-seats-full range capability has allowed Great Lakes to lead the industry in average passenger stage length in both the 19
and 30 seat aircraft categories. Given our success with the 1900 it will remain the "backbone" of our fleet. We will continue
our fleet upgrade program through the trading of older C models for the advanced 1900D, which brings with it the strong
customer appeal of a standup cabin.
In the future, we see dramatic changes occurring to the traditional airline distribution systems. The emergence of new, low cost
airlines has accelerated the development of independent customer direct computer sales systems, including Internet direct
reservation system access and paperless electronic ticketing. The Company will take advantage of the Internet's cost
effectiveness to simultaneously strengthen the presence of the reestablished Great Lakes marketing identity and improve
communications with shareholders and employees alike.
While our 1995 financial results were below our expectations, I believe we have positioned the Company to improve our ability to generate profits while reducing risk and volatility. Our developing services at Midway Connection and the new Great Lakes route systems are neutralizing a large portion of our original midwestern system's seasonality. We know what is required to complete the job. With the cooperation and support of our employees, shareholders and most importantly, our customers, we expect Great Lakes to regain the consistent profitability we have enjoyed in prior years.
[Home] [Route System ] [Company News ] [Great Lakes History ] [Aircraft Types ] [Cargo Services]
[United Express] [Midway Connection ] [Great Lakes Airlines ]
e-mail us at mmclaughlin@greatlakesav.com