Republic Holdings Inc. announces expansion of Midwest Airlines in Milwaukee

The new owners of Milwaukee-based Midwest Airlines, Republic Holdings Inc., today announced that the shrinking airline will soon begin growing again with new service to Raleigh/Durham, North Carolina and San Francisco. Service to both destinations will start up in April of 2010. The new non-stops from General Mitchell International Airport in Milwaukee will be the first of what is expected to many new markets for the airline that shares ownership with Denver-based Frontier Airlines and several other regional carriers. Republic is headquartered in Indianapolis.

In addition to the new flights, the holding company said it will preserve over 700 local jobs and add as many as 800 new full-time positions in Milwaukee. Republic plans to increase its maintenance operations and technical support, as well as hire more flight crews. The carrier will be eligible to receive as much as $27 million in tax credits due to the investment it is making.

The strengthening of Midwest Airlines is sure to lead to fare wars involving many carriers. Orlando-based AirTran has developed and continues to add service from its Milwaukee hub, and Dallas-based Southwest Airlines just arrived on the scene with its first service from the city on November 1. With Chicago less than 100 miles away, there is little doubt that whatever transpires with schedules and fares in Milwaukee will have an effect to the same and many additional destinations just down the interstate.