New HQ: Building the Future of Republic Airways

Staying connected is important for a company that operates thousands of flights a day to hundreds of cities across North America. The new Republic Airways^® Aviation Campus was intentionally designed to do just that. Hear from Steve Hood, Vice President of Properties and Facilities, on exactly how the new Campus design is made to improve efficiencies, foster collaboration and make Republic Airways a regional airline unlike any other.

One Crew. One Mission. One Location.

For most of our history, the Republic Airways workforce was a distributed workforce.

“Training facilities, corporate offices and lodging for incoming crew were all in separate locations,” Steve explains. “We wanted to bring everything and everyone together.”

Now, whether you work on campus every day or are visiting for training, everything is in one location. “Our Corporate Headquarters, state-of-the-art Training Center and even the Brickyard Hotel for visiting Associates are all conveniently located on one campus,” says Steve. “You can work here, train here, eat here, sleep here, exercise here, relax here. It really is a totally centralized location.”

Built-In Efficiency

“We’ve found time and time again that efficiency and productivity skyrockets when you’re on-site,” Steve says. “Our vision since day zero was facilitating in-person connections and human interaction.”

The current Headquarters has 151 private offices. Steve and his team cut that down to 54 in the new HQ. He emphasizes that these choices were very deliberate. “If we designed a surplus of offices with plenty of chairs and amenities like mini-fridges and coffee makers, it can be easy for Associates to spend their whole day in their office,” he says. “To truly create an environment that encourages innovation, we need people to get out of their offices, walk down the hallways, bump into coworkers, have lunch together and just interact. Our design helps accomplish that.”

Amenities For All

The Headquarters has more than enough amenities to get you through the day; you just have to leave your desk to use them.

“Each floor has a pantry. That means fridges, ice machines, dish washers, coffee makers, filtered water, microwaves and more,” Steve says. “There’s an on-site barista. There’s a fresh salad bar. There’s a fitness center with showers and lockers, an outdoor basketball court and a rooftop deck.”

Why is it so important to invest in amenities like this? “Part of it is recruiting and retention. If you want ordinary talent, design an ordinary office,” Steve says. “We want folks who go beyond the ordinary. So we had to build an extraordinary space.” The other part, Steve explains, is a core part of the Republic Airways culture. “We’re not just investing in an office, or a cafeteria or a hotel. We’re investing in the people who spend their time here.”

Transparency and Collaboration

Throughout the design and construction process, Steve has made a point to keep Republic Airways Associates informed and involved. “There are some decisions that come down to my experience in large-scale projects like this,” Steve says. “But a majority of these choices don’t have black and white answers.”

Steve implemented a Change Management Team almost a full year before beginning any work on the project. The Change Management Team’s job was not only to disseminate information and updates to their teams throughout the company, but also to gather feedback from their teams and bring it back to Steve.

“This is a pivotal moment for our entire organization,” he says. “I wanted to make sure that everyone feels heard and that everyone is bought in.”

As construction on the Headquarters nears completion, the Aviation Campus is almost entirely complete. For Steve, this project is one-of-a-kind. “It’s a truly unique and iconic thing for a regional airline to invest in the future like this.”

Learn more about the Aviation Campus and how Republic Airways is leading the way when it comes to innovation and technology right here.