Sean Menke, largely the architect of Frontier Airlines’ success over the past several years and who was the innovator who brought a la carte pricing to both Frontier and Air Canada is leaving Republic Airways according to this Dallas Morning News Aviation Blog report HERE.

I don’t see this departure as a condemnation of Republic so much as Menke is probably wanting to move on to bigger and better things.  With long ties to the Denver community, moving to Indianapolis probably wasn’t high on his list of things to do.   With his track record in this industry, Menke represents the kind of talent other airlines need and I’m sure his list of offers is already growing rapidly.   There are several airlines who could stand to have someone of his caliber.   And let’s face it, with Brian Bedford in the top position at Republic, there was nowhere for Menke to go.  In his mind, it was probably better to leave now than to stay in a position with no upward mobility and a narrowed scope. 

However, Republic is going to miss this key executive in a bad way, I think.  Menke was just the kind of person you need to merge brands together while preserving the image necessary to succeed in the airline industry.   While Midwest is only a brand now, it is an important brand in that portfolio.  Managing brands is something Republic has almost no experience in doing and this is a critical time for them. 

I think Republic will find someone to do this but I also think this development does spell the end of the Midwest brand in the near future.  It is just too difficult to manage to brands that, while both are good service products, both are not entirely in harmony with each other either.  Frontier is ultimately the stronger brand nationally and has the service product that fits closest with with industry trends now.  I think sometime in the next 12 to 18 months, we’ll see one brand (Frontier) and Milwaukee’s status as a “hub” will draw down to that of a focus city at best.

The key question is will Republic find someone who “gets” what they’re trying to do and can brand and market to that approach?  And can they get him/her in time to keep the whole enterprise from stumbling.  That’s where I worry because Republic isn’t in the habit of having to find such talent for a branded enterprise and it takes a while to figure out what you need and who you need.  If CEO Bedford has strong industry contacts among the branded airlines, he would be wise to get work making those calls asap.    An executive search for 9 months won’t fly for this.

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