Republic Airlines began in 1979 with the merger of
North Central Airlines and
Southern Airways, the first such merger following the federal
Airline Deregulation Act. The new airline's headquarters were at
Minneapolis–Saint Paul International Airport where it operated a major hub, however, their largest hub was at
Detroit Metropolitan Wayne County Airport. A third hub was also operated at
Memphis International Airport. Following their buyout of
Hughes Airwest in 1980, Republic became the largest airline in the U.S. by number of airports served. New hubs were also acquired at
Phoenix Sky Harbor International Airport and at
Las Vegas McCarran International Airport. The company operated the world's largest
McDonnell Douglas DC-9 fleet, with
DC-9-10,
DC-9-30 and
DC-9-50s and also flew
Boeing 727-200,
Boeing 757-200, and
McDonnell Douglas MD-80 jets. In addition, Republic operated
Convair 580 turboprops previously flown by
North Central. After the merger, losses mounted Saddled with debt from two acquisitions and new aircraft, the airline struggled in the early 1980s, and even introduced a human
mascot version of Herman the Duck. They reduced service to Phoenix and Las Vegas, former hubs of
Hughes Airwest, citing their inability to compete with non-union airlines there, and eventually dismantled the former extensive route system operated by Hughes Airwest in the western U.S. As a result, this caused the airline’s image to worsen at a sensitive time, and the airline was sometimes derided as "Repulsive". In early 1985 Republic teamed up with
Simmons Airlines and
Express 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 as
Republic Express using turboprop aircraft that were painted as Republic Airlines, accommodating from 14 to 34 passengers.
Northwest Airlines In 1986,
Northwest Orient Airlines announced on January 23 that they would buy Republic for $884 million in response to
United Airlines' purchase of the Pacific routes of
Pan American World Airways and to provide domestic feed. Opposed by the
Justice Department, the Northwest-Republic merger was approved by the
Transportation Department on July 31 and was completed on October 1, with Northwest dropping the word
Orient from their name after the merger. Northwest merged Republic's hub at
Minneapolis, with its existing hub there, and retained Republic's hubs at
Memphis, and
Detroit. Together, they became the backbone of Northwest's domestic network. Northwest later merged with
Delta 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. ==Frequent flyer program==