Their headquarters were at Minneapolis–Saint Paul International Airport, in what is now Fort Snelling in unincorporated Hennepin County, Minnesota.

[10] Saddled with debt from two acquisitions and new aircraft, the airline struggled in the early 1980s,[11][12][13] and even introduced a human mascot version of Herman the Duck.

Republic's hubs in Detroit and the Twin Cities have remained intact with Delta; Memphis was dehubbed in 2013.

The new program included a partnership with Pan American World Airways for earning and redeeming mileage awards.

According to the Republic Airlines system route map dated March 2, 1986, the airline was serving the following domestic and international destinations shortly before the merger with Northwest Airlines:[26] Alabama Arizona Arkansas California Colorado Connecticut Florida Georgia Illinois Indiana Iowa Kansas Kentucky Louisiana Maryland Massachusetts Michigan Minnesota Mississippi Missouri Nebraska Nevada New York North Dakota Ohio Oklahoma Oregon Pennsylvania South Dakota Tennessee Texas Utah Washington, D.C. / Virginia Washington state Wisconsin Canada Cayman Islands Mexico The airline had a high safety rating, but incurred a passenger fatality in 1983 when a section of propeller blade entered the cabin of Flight 927 at Brainerd, Minnesota on Sunday, January 9.

[31] Arriving from Minneapolis in sleet and snow showers at 7:40 p.m., the Convair 580 skidded off the right edge of the runway and the right propeller struck a snowbank.

[13] In 1985, a pilot for the airline named Jack Brasher deviated 700 feet from an assigned altitude in flight.