Republic Airways Holdings
| Industry | Transportation |
|---|---|
| Founded | 1973 |
| Headquarters | Indianapolis, IN, USA |
| Area served | North America |
| Key people |
Bryan Bedford (CEO) (Chairman) & (President) |
| Services | Airline Services |
| Employees |
In holding company (450) In all subsidiaries(10000+) |
| Subsidiaries | |
| Website | rjet.com |
Republic Airways Holdings, Inc. (NASDAQ: RJET) is an aviation holding corporation based in Indianapolis, Indiana,[1] which owns three airlines operating in the United States: Chautauqua Airlines, Republic Airlines and Shuttle America.
Chautauqua operates regional jet (RJ) aircraft with up to 50 seats, Shuttle America operates Embraer 175 aircraft airliners with 76 seats, and Republic Airlines operates Embraer 170, 175 and 190 aircraft with 70–99 seats.
Corporate governance
Republic is led by CEO and president Bryan Bedford.[2]
History
The company traces its roots to Chautauqua Airlines, founded in 1973 in Jamestown, New York, by Joel and Gloria Hall. Joel had been a pilot for Mohawk Airlines. Chautauqua was one of the first airlines to fly under code shares initially with Allegheny Airlines which later became USAirways. [3]
In 1988, an affiliate of Guarantee Security Life Insurance Company bought the airline. In 1991, the Florida Department of Insurance took over the insurance company and its airline subsidiary after the insurance company was declared insolvent. [3]
On May 8, 1994, Chautauqua swapped routes with Jetstream International which had been owned by USAir. Chautauqua then moved its headquarters to Indianapolis. [3]
In 1996, the company formally organized as a holding company.[4]
Wexford Management of Greenwich, Connecticut, an investment company, bought the company on May 15, 1998. Wexford had also owned National Airlines (N7) [3] and also invested heavily in Midway Airlines (1993–2003). Wexford’s interest in distressed airline firms dates back to 1995 when the assets of MarkAir were purchased in a bankruptcy auction.
On May 26, 2004, an IPO was launched on NASDAQ under the ticker symbol RJET with Wexford Capital remaining the majority shareholder.[5] The holding company capitalizes on the name Republic rather Chautauqua because Republic Airlines (1979–1986) has better national recognition even though the earlier Republic Airlines has no historic ties to the new company other than the name.
On May 9, 2005, the company acquired Shuttle America from Wexford affiliate Shuttle Acquisition LLC.[5]
In September 2005, Republic purchased 113 slots at Ronald Reagan Washington National Airport, 24 at LaGuardia Airport, and 10 Embraer 170 aircraft from US Airways with an agreement to lease those assets back to US Airways. The deal was necessary for US Airways to emerge from bankruptcy protection.
On July 31, 2009, Republic acquired 89 percent of Mokulele Airlines.[6]
On July 31, 2009, the company acquired financially troubled Midwest Airlines from TPG Capital;[5] and on October 1, 2009, Republic acquired Frontier Airlines which was being reorganized along with Frontier Airlines Holdings Lynx Aviation in Chapter 11 bankruptcy.[5] On April 13, 2010, Republic announced that Midwest and Frontier would combine into a single airline, keeping the Frontier Airlines name.[7]
On October 23, 2009, Republic announced a joint venture with Mesa Air Group in which E170 routes operated by Shuttle America were transitioned to smaller Bombardier CRJ200 regional jet aircraft provided by Mesa Airlines.[5]
In the fourth quarter of 2011, Republic announced that it would spin off Frontier as a separate company.[8]
On December 2, 2013 Frontier was sold in it's entirety to an Affiliate of Indigo Partners. As part of the agreement, Republic Airlines removed the remaining Frontier branded E-190 jets in "pro-rated" service with Frontier Airlines.
Scope clauses
The separation of the three contract airlines is due to “scope clauses” between mainline pilots and each major carrier Republic feeds. These clauses regulate the size of regional jet aircraft that affiliate carriers may operate; the intent behind such clauses is to protect mainline pilots from being replaced by lower-paid regional pilots. In 2005, Republic paid a $6.6 million settlement to the Allied Pilots Association after placing Embraer 170s in service with Chautauqua Airlines as United Express, because such aircraft violated the scope clause in the pilots’ contract at American Airlines, which also contracts with Chautauqua for regional service as American Connection.[9] To avoid further liability, Republic moved all of its Embraer 170 aircraft to Shuttle America, an airline that previously only operated Saab 340 turboprops. Subsequently, [10]American Airlines and its pilots changed the scope agreement as part of the bankruptcy and merger with US Airways to allow more regional airlines, other than wholly owned American Airlines subsidiary American Eagle, to fly larger regional airliners under the American Eagle brand. Republic Airlines began flying the first of 47 Embraer 175 [E-175] aircraft under the American Eagle brand in July of 2013.
Codeshare agreements
Until 2009 when Republic acquired Midwest and Frontier, all of its planes flew in the colors of other airlines through code share agreements. Following is a breakdown of traffic upon all Republic Airways Holdings airlines as of December 31, 2008.[11]
