‘It’s a fantastic deal’: Aviation officials weigh in on Republic Airways merger
Subscriber Benefit
As a subscriber you can listen to articles at work, in the car, or while you work out. Subscribe NowAviation industry observers are weighing in on Republic Airways’ plans to merge with Phoenix-based Mesa Air Group.
Republic has more than 6,000 employees, which includes 2,000 pilots, 2,000 flight attendants, 600 maintenance technicians and 300 systems operations control associates who handle dispatch and crew scheduling.
The deal, announced last week, would grow the combined company’s fleet to more than 310 E-Jet aircraft and more than 1,250 daily departures while maintaining its current routes and basing structures.
“It’s a fantastic deal, because if they’re going to step out of this with a larger combined fleet, and if they do it correctly, which I have a lot of faith in Republic…[they will have] a smaller combined expense,” Mario Rodriguez, executive director of the Indianapolis Airport Authority, said. “Republic has a much, much larger fleet than Mesa, so we’re probably expecting the gravitational pull to be in this direction, rather than towards Arizona.”
Rodriguez told Inside INdiana Business that Republic currently has around 35 departures from the airport under the flag of three airlines. Mesa Air Group currently has one.
Republic, which became privately held in 2017 after it emerged from bankruptcy, was the second-largest regional airline in the United States in 2022, according to the Regional Airline Association’s 2023 annual report.
“They principally serve the mainline carriers: United, Delta and American,” Rodriguez said. “They don’t fly under their own flag, but that doesn’t necessarily mean that the industry doesn’t look at them as a force. They serve to feed the major airlines. Without these folks, without the regional airlines, you could not get smaller markets into the hubs.”
Republic’s training center, 272-room hotel used exclusively by Republic employees, and an 800-space parking garage opened in April 2023. Those facilities are part of Republic’s new $200 million corporate campus between U.S. 31 and North Pennsylvania Street in Carmel.
Construction continues on a new 122,000-square-foot headquarters building that’s expected to open in January 2026.
“This is just sort of that next logical expression of, ‘We’re building a very strong future for Republic Airways,’” CEO Bryan Bedford told IBJ in September. “I think this facility, it’s a very tangible, visual expression of, ‘OK, we’ve got a strong future ahead of us. We’re investing in our future.’”
Volodymyr Bilotkach, associate professor in the Purdue Polytechnic Institute School of Aviation and Transportation Technology, tells Inside INdiana Business the merger will make Republic a more important player in the marketplace.
“The biggest [regional carrier] is SkyWest, then Republic will become the second largest after the merger,” Bilotkach said. “The bigger you are, the easier it should be for you to bargain with the network carriers for better deals.”
The merger is also expected to affect Republic’s geographical reach and have an impact in the nation’s capital.
“Mesa flies exclusively for United…[and a] fairly important airport for Mesa was Reagan National, which is also an important airport for Republic. So Republic will kind of get a better presence at Reagan National, which I think is in general a good thing,” he said.
Bedford was nominated by President Donald Trump last month to helm the Federal Aviation Administration.
During his time at Republic, the airline has grown from $85 million in revenue and 36 turboprop aircraft to more than $1.3 billion in revenue and an operating fleet of over 230 E-Jet aircraft.
Republic Airways also won Tech Company of the Year at TechPoint’s 2025 Mira Awards in February.
Carmel has more than 125 corporate headquarters, and Republic’s campus is among the city’s largest.
“Indiana pales in comparison to Ohio, Michigan and Illinois to the number of Fortune 500 companies. So we feel like Carmel, and really only Carmel, is positioned for regional and national headquarters and especially on that US 31 corridor,” Carmel Mayor Sue Finkam told Inside INdiana Business host Gerry Dick on the Business & Beyond Podcast. “It is an opportunity galore for the next 20-30 years to redevelop that space … finding redevelopment opportunities and investment opportunities along that corridor is absolutely critical for us.”
In September, IBJ reporter Daniel Bradley took an in-depth look at the company’s growth, new training center and Lift Academy in Indianapolis. You can read that story here.