The company traces its roots to Chautauqua Airlines, founded in 1973 in Jamestown, New York, by Joel and Gloria Hall.

Wexford’s interest in distressed airline firms dates back to 1995 when the assets of MarkAir were purchased in a bankruptcy auction.

On May 26, 2004, an IPO was launched on NASDAQ under the ticker symbol RJET with Wexford Capital remaining the majority shareholder.

[7] On February 25, 2016, Republic Airways Holdings Inc filed for bankruptcy protection because of plunging profits, a pilot shortage,[8][9] and a loss of revenue during the past several quarters associated with grounding aircraft.

American had awarded the flying of 44-seat regional jets to Chautauqua, then the main operating subsidiary of Republic Airways Holdings.

[7] To avoid further liability, all Embraer 170 aircraft were transferred to Shuttle America, which previously only operated Saab 340 turboprops.

On July 28, 2014, Republic Airways Holdings announced that Chautauqua Airlines would be absorbed into Shuttle America "by year-end" to reduce costs.

As 2015 ended, subsidiary Shuttle America began to transfer aircraft, flight attendants, and pilots over to the Republic Airways certificate.

After minor delays, Republic Airline and Shuttle America completed the merger process on the morning of January 31, 2017.

In February 2010, Republic Airways Holdings became the first North American customer for the Bombardier CSeries regional jet.

[19] In 2014, following delays in the CS300 program, Republic expressed doubts in keeping their CS300 order, but announcement that a final decision would be put off.

[21] As part of the 2016 bankruptcy proceedings, an agreement was reached with Bombardier to amend the order for its CSeries aircraft by deferring payments and deliveries.