Reviving Midwest Express: $100 million and a good cookie recipe

If planes could fly on good wishes, fond memories and chocolate chip cookies, Midwest Express would be up and running by the end of the week.

The reality, airline industry experts say, is much murkier, not to mention much more expensive: Bringing back the beloved airline, as two Wisconsin businessmen are proposing, will be extremely difficult.

“Nothing is impossible, but it would certainly be an uphill climb," said Dave Emerson, partner and leader of the global Airline Practice at management consulting firm Bain & Co.

Business partners Curt Drumm and Greg Aretakis are seeking to restore the Midwest Express brand as an operating airline, Drumm said this past week.

More: A comeback for Midwest Express? Effort is underway

Drumm's LinkedIn page lists him as an aviation consultant at Lakeshore Aviation in Manitowoc. Aretakis is listed as principal at Air Advising Services based in Brookfield and a former Frontier Airlines and Midwest Airlines executive.

Other than confirming that they have begun working to bring the airline back, Drumm said he couldn't comment. Aretakis couldn't be reached.

Still, news of the effort has quickly created a buzz, not only in Wisconsin but in airline circles across the U.S. Nearly all the sentiment is positive.

"I think it’s an interesting idea," Emerson said. "I’ll be interested to see if they gain any traction."

On social media, former customers of the Milwaukee-based airline, whose reputation for first-class treatment of passengers and cookies baked fresh in flight extended far beyond its small national market share, were excited about the prospects of a rebirth.

"Best airline I ever flew ... ," read one of the hundreds of Facebook comments about the news. "What can we do to make this happen!?!?" another said.

The effort to bring back Midwest has an advantage in that the brand doesn't have to be created from scratch, said Steve Laughlin, executive chairman of Laughlin Constable, an ad agency with offices in Milwaukee and Chicago.

"From beginning to end, that brand had a very loyal following," Laughlin said.  "If the Midwest Express brand were to come back to the market delivering against the same expectations that were created by the old brand, I think it would be welcomed with open arms. People loved that airline."