Republic Airways Holdings Inc. (NASDAQ:RJET), which announced deals to acquire two different airlines earlier this week, is apparently wasting little time getting its new subsidiaries to work together.
Indianapolis-based Republic, which currently provides small jet service for larger airlines, in a 24-hour period struck deals worth a combined $140 million to acquire discounter Frontier Airlines Holdings Inc. and Midwest Air Group Inc. Republic has revealed little about its long-term plans for the targets pending bankruptcy court approval of the Frontier deal other
than saying both companies will keep their individual brands and not be merged.
But that does not mean Frontier and Midwest will not work together. According to an internal memo to Midwest employees obtained Thursday, Frontier and Midwest will soon launch a codeshare designed to offer customers of each airline more destinations. The deal would allow Midwest to offer connections from Denver to destinations such as Aspen, Colo., Colorado Springs, Colo., and Boise, Idaho, while Frontier could offer one-stop service to markets like Cleveland, Nashville and Philadelphia through Midwest's Milwaukee hub.
The codeshare comes as little surprise, but it is sure to ruffle some feathers in the industry. AirTran Airways Inc. (NYSE:AAI), an Orlando, Fla.-based discounter that has been both a partner of Frontier and an archrival of Midwest, could be the big loser here. AirTran has an agreement with Frontier that allowed it to offer its primarily East Coast passenger base access to Frontier's destinations out West, and the two sides in years past had discussed eventually formalizing the relationship into a codeshare.
Perhaps an AirTran-Frontier partnership is still possible, but with AirTran largely responsible for Midwest's demise due to the discounter's rapid expansion at Midwest's Milwaukee base, it seems unlikely. Your move, AirTran. -
Lou Whiteman
Lou Whiteman is a senior writer covering the automotive, transportation and industrial sectors. Follow him on Twitter @louwhiteman
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