MILWAUKEE, March 12 (Reuters) - Midwest Express Holdings Inc. (MEH) on Tuesday said it will defer delivery of Embraer regional jets to its Skyway Airlines unit by a year, in a move to focus on new planes for its Midwest Express Airlines unit. Given current airline industry weakness, it is not prudent for Midwest Express to start two new aircraft programs at the same time, the carrier said in a statement. Deferring the Embraer deliveries will allow the company to focus on Boeing Co. (BA) 717 deliveries for its Midwest Express unit planned to start in February 2003, Midwest Express said. The carrier said it now plans to take delivery of Embraer (EMBR4) (ERJ) regional jets at a rate of about one every other month starting in January 2004 for Skyway. The carrier also said that Midwest Express Airlines' load factor, or percentage of capacity in use, rose to 61.3 percent in February from 57.2 percent a year earlier, on decreased traffic and capacity following the Sept. 11 attacks. The airline's traffic, measured in revenue passenger miles, decreased 6.8 percent in February from a year earlier and capacity, measured in scheduled available seat miles, fell 13 percent. ©2002 Reuters Limited.