AirTran Holdings to nominate three directors for Midwest Air board

By Lisa Kerner

Charlotte, N.C., Feb. 1 - AirTran Holdings, Inc., the parent of AirTran Airways, said it plans to nominate Jeffrey Erickson, Charles Kalmbach and John Albertine to Midwest Air Group, Inc.'s board of directors at the airline's annual meeting.

Erickson is the recently retired president and chief executive officer of Atlas Air Worldwide Holdings, Inc. Kalmbach is the former president and chief executive officer of DBM, Inc. and Albertine is the chairman, chief executive officer and founder of Albertine Enterprises, a consulting firm.

"While this slate of director candidates, if elected, will not constitute a majority of the members of the board, we believe it is vital that the Midwest shareholders' interests be represented inside of the boardroom," AirTran chairman and chief executive officer Joe Leonard said in a company news release.

The action is in response to AirTran's belief that "those charged with fiduciary obligations are more concerned about their own positions than permitting the owners of Midwest to accept AirTran's offer," Leonard said.

The Orlando, Fla.-based airline said it is also extending its exchange offer scheduled to expire on Feb. 8, 2007, until March 8 because Midwest has refused to allow the company to communicate directly with shareholders.

In a letter to Midwest shareholders, Leonard said Midwest management urged shareholders to reject AirTran's exchange offer of $13.25 in cash and AirTran stock.

"We believe that Midwest management's refusal to fully contemplate the compelling benefits of combining with AirTran raises serious corporate governance and transparency questions," Leonard said in the letter.

As of Jan. 31, a total of 38,966 shares of Midwest common stock were tendered in response to AirTran's offer, according to the release.

In response, Midwest said in a news release that it believes that AirTran's slate, if elected, will push for a sale of Midwest to AirTran, denying Midwest's shareholders the opportunity to benefit from management's strategic plan, according to a company news release.

The Milwaukee-based airline cited its recent earnings announcement, and its third profitable quarter in a row, demonstrated the strength of Midwest's strategic plan.

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