Republic Airlines

IATA ICAO Call sign RC REP REPUBLIC
Founded	July 1, 1979 (1979-07-01) (amalgamation)
Ceased operations	September 30, 1986 (1986-09-30) (merged intoNorthwest Airlines)
Hubs	Detroit Memphis Minneapolis/St. Paul
Frequent-flyer program	Perks Program
Headquarters	Fort Snelling,Minnesota,U.S.
Key people	Stephen Wolf(1984–1986)

Republic Airlines was an airline in theUnited States that operated from 1979 until it merged withNorthwest Airlines in 1986. Republic was formed by the merger ofNorth Central Airlines andSouthern Airways on July 1, 1979. Their headquarters were atMinneapolis–Saint Paul International Airport, in what is nowFort Snelling inunincorporatedHennepin County, Minnesota.^[1][2] The former headquarters is nowDelta Air Lines Building C.^[3]

Republic Airlines began in 1979 with the merger ofNorth Central Airlines andSouthern Airways,^[4] the first such merger following the federalAirline Deregulation Act.^[5] The new airline's headquarters were atMinneapolis-Saint Paul International Airport where it operated a major hub, however, their largest hub was atDetroit Metropolitan Wayne County Airport. A third hub was also operated atMemphis International Airport. Following their buyout ofHughes Airwest in 1980,^[6][7] Republic became the largest airline in the U.S. by number of airports served. New hubs were also acquired atPhoenix Sky Harbor International Airport and atLas Vegas McCarran International Airport.

The company operated the world's largestMcDonnell Douglas DC-9 fleet, withDC-9-10,DC-9-30 andDC-9-50s and also flewBoeing 727-200,Boeing 757-200, andMcDonnell Douglas MD-80 jets. In addition, Republic operatedConvair 580 turboprops previously flown byNorth Central.^[8]

After the merger, losses mounted^[9] and service reductions followed.^[10] Saddled with debt from two acquisitions and new aircraft, the airline struggled in the early 1980s,^[11][12][13] and even introduced a humanmascot version of Herman the Duck.^[14][15] They reduced service to Phoenix and Las Vegas, former hubs ofHughes Airwest, citing their inability to compete with non-union airlines there,^[16] and eventually dismantled the former extensive route system operated by Hughes Airwest in the western U.S.^[17] As a result, this caused the airline’s image to worsen at a sensitive time, and the airline was sometimes derided as "Repulsive".^[18]

In early 1985 Republic teamed up withSimmons Airlines andExpress Airlines I to provide feeder service from dozens of smaller cities to Republic's three main hub airports at Detroit, Memphis, and Minneapolis. The service was known asRepublic Express using turboprop aircraft that were painted as Republic Airlines, accommodating from 14 to 34 passengers.^[19]

In 1986,Northwest Orient Airlines announced on January 23 that they would buy Republic for $884 million^[9][20] in response toUnited Airlines' purchase of the Pacific routes ofPan American World Airways and to provide domestic feed.^[21] Opposed by theJustice Department,^[22] the Northwest-Republic merger was approved by theTransportation Department on July 31^[23][24] and was completed on October 1, with Northwest dropping the wordOrient from their name after the merger.^[25] Northwest merged Republic's hub atMinneapolis, with its existing hub there, and retained Republic's hubs atMemphis, andDetroit. Together, they became the backbone of Northwest's domestic network.

Northwest later merged withDelta Air Lines in October 2008; the deal was finalized in January 2010, with Delta as the surviving air carrier. Delta initially retained the former Republic hubs, but dehubbed Memphis in 2013.

In October 1984 Republic introduced a new frequent flyer program called the Perks program. The new program eliminated the need to place a frequent flyer account number sticker on each flight ticket coupon, with earned mileage automatically being assigned to accounts if the reservation was booked directly with Republic. Each flight segment earned a minimum of 1,000 miles or the actual mileage, if greater. A domestic round trip reward ticket was automatically issued every 20,000 miles. The new program included a partnership withPan American World Airways for earning and redeeming mileage awards. In January 1986,Western Airlines was added as a partner. Effective October 1, 1986, the Republic Perks frequent flyer program was merged intoNorthwest Airlines which adopted theWorldPerks program name, taken from Republic.

• 133Douglas DC-9-14; Douglas DC-9-15; McDonnell Douglas DC-9-31; McDonnell Douglas DC-9-32; McDonnell Douglas DC-9-51
• 22Boeing 727-200
• 8McDonnell Douglas MD-82
• 6Boeing 757-200
• 24Convair CV-580turboprop aircraft

According to the Republic Airlines system route map dated March 2, 1986, the airline was serving the following domestic and international destinations shortly before the merger with Northwest Airlines:^[26]

The airline had a high safety rating, but incurred a passenger fatality in 1983 when a section of propeller blade entered the cabin of Flight 927 atBrainerd, Minnesota on Sunday, January 9.^[31] Arriving from Minneapolis in sleet and snow showers at 7:40 p.m., theConvair 580 skidded off the right edge of the runway and the right propeller struck a snowbank. Three other passengers were injured, one seriously.^[32][33] Following this incident, the airline had a number of close calls in 1983.^[13] In 1985, a pilot for the airline named Jack Brasher deviated 700 feet from an assigned altitude in flight. As a result, a warning was issued to him months later. The warning would be named after him - theBrasher warning.^[34]

• List of defunct airlines of the United States
• Revenue Technology Services (1982)

Wikimedia Commons has media related toRepublic Airlines (1979–1986).

• Fleet and code information
• Fleet information
• Republic Airlines historical artifacts - inventory list of items stored at the Minnesota Historical Society
• Aviation Safety Network – Republic Airlines

• Airlines established in 1979
• Airlines disestablished in 1986
• Defunct airlines of the United States
• Northwest Airlines
• Defunct companies based in Minnesota
• 1979 establishments in Minnesota
• 1986 disestablishments in Minnesota
• 1986 mergers and acquisitions
• Airlines based in Minnesota

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