I am sure many thousands of passengers board airplanes this year after booking the lowest price online and not seeming to care about the operation. The fact of the matter is, people should focus on the operations of Republic Airways Holdings, because they stand out above the other regionals and are well worth paying a few bucks more on your next trip. Upon futher research of this airline and you'll find that they are not as simple as meets the eye; in fact they are tasked with running one of the most complex airline operations in the country right now. From a recent 3-way merger, the new Frontier-Midwest combination outfitted as Frontier Airlines resides within the holding company alongside Republic Airlines, Chautauqua and Shuttle America. The flights operated on scheduled service are under American Connection (with only 15 aircraft), Continental Express, Delta Connection/Delta Shuttle, Frontier, United Express and US Airways Express. Their consolidated headquarters just down the road in Carmel, IN houses all of the operating oversight for each brand with employees absorbed from Denver, Milwaukee, Hartford and elsewhere.
The thing that makes Republic Airlines and Shuttle America stand out among other regionals is the brand new Embraer fleet. Supplementing Frontier's DirecTV equpped Airbusses is what has replaced Midwest's aging operation in the form of Embrer 170's and 190's with no middle seats and a cabin experience to carry comfortable passengers an impressive range. The grey area between regional and mainline has been blended by these outstanding aircraft and I continue to hear nothing but good things about them (Shuttle America also operates the Embraer 170 on former Delta Shuttle routes). The other operation under the company is Chautauqua, which flies the smaller Embraer 135 and 145 which are only accepted as suitable for flights under an hour or so to smaller markets. These low-end aircraft fly as American Connection, US Airways Express, Continental Express, United Express, Delta Connection and Frontier. All but American contract the 170 family for the more stretegic routes to go over 70 seats. As those last two paragraphs entailed, this company is no simple operation and they somehow emerege victorious as they were ATW's regional airline of the year in 2008 and customers remain delighted with this splended operation that rivals jetBlue in overall size and scope.
Now is where I come in, I flew on Frontier to and from Mexico twice in recent memory and have flown on the present-day Shuttle America as Delta twice in the last two years. The product is outstanding from a customer perspective and knowing their internal workings, mastering that effect is very difficult. On the cheap customer's end they among the most affordable itineraries on Expedia and somehow remain profitable and impeccable in safety and employee well being. Frontier was also an "Undercover Boss" company last fall in which the crazy world inside america's airlines was examined in detail with their CEO going down to the bottom of the ladder for a week in the midst of the Midwest merger and acquisition. I am extremely impressed with this Indiana company and have been contacted by an old friend to get back inside the private sector on the operations side just down I-65. From my conversations so far and my encounters at headquarters, it looks like I may be able to work the Boston gate in the summer or at headquarters in the coming fall. I know whatever possible opportunity with Republic Airways Holdings would be outstanding and really propell me as a management major.
Outside of that whole situation, I went through the application and recruitment process for Purdue's own Aviation Technology Student Council at the first chance it was offered. I made the first cut of resume and essay applications and was selected for an interview in February. I was at an advantage being an aviation management major since the ATSC is oversaturated with pilots, and they wanted to even things out. However I was still placed at a disadvantage as a freshman and was told after my interview that I would have another chance in the fall after their older members have graduated. I enjoyed the opportunity to network within our aviation technology department and hope to talk with some of our professors more about arranging Republic internships for myself and others. Classes are going as expected and things are moving along steadily into the spring and conclusion of semester two. It has been a fairly busy couple of months and that has kept me on top of my game and enjoying the ride.
