Republic Airways flight attendant guide

Big-picture snapshot

Republic Airways is the Indianapolis-headquartered regional giant that became publicly traded Republic Airways Holdings (NASDAQ: RJET) after its merger with Mesa Air Group closed November 25, 2025. It flies an all-Embraer E170/E175 fleet of 314 aircraft and is the only large US regional flying for all three majors — American Eagle, Delta Connection, and United Express. Roughly 3,000 flight attendants (combined with Mesa) support 1,300+ daily departures.

For applicants, Republic is a rolling door: a standing Flight Attendant posting is live on careers.rjet.com (as of August 2026) plus a recurring open-house circuit, and aggregate time-to-hire runs about 23 days. No flash windows, no once-a-year lottery.

Honest framing: this is a realistic first flight attendant job. Starting pay is "above $27/hour" per the careers page — first-year gross lands in the low $30,000s territory rather than Delta's roughly $45,000–60,000. But Republic's new joint contract materially changed that math: as of July 2026, Republic FAs have contractual boarding pay at the mainline-style 50% formula — one of the first regionals to get it — worth up to about 16% more compensation on average. Add a contractual guarantee of 11 days off per month, a fully paid 19-day training program, and nonrev travel across three majors' networks, and the value proposition is stronger than the bare hourly rate suggests.

Two things candidates get wrong constantly. First: there is no FA flow program to American, Delta, or United. Flying for all three majors is relevant for nonrev breadth and base-dependent service standards — not for any pathway claim. (Flow-through programs in the AA regional family are pilot programs; they do not exist for flight attendants anywhere.) Second: LIFT Academy is a pilot pipeline — zero FA relevance.

Baseline requirements per posting-derived consensus (August 2026 — verify the live posting): at least 20 years old by the date of the first interview (a year younger than SkyWest or mainline — genuinely useful for young candidates), high school diploma or GED plus at least two years of customer service experience, US work authorization, ability to travel unrestricted within the network (US, Canada, Caribbean, Mexico), and English fluency. Passport-specific verbatim wasn't captured in our source pass — check the posting.

Republic Airways flight attendant bases

FA bases per 2026 posting-derived lists: Indianapolis (IND), Columbus (CMH), Chicago (ORD), Pittsburgh (PIT), Philadelphia (PHL), Washington DC (DCA), Boston (BOS), Newark (EWR), New York (LGA), and Louisville (SDF) — mirroring the pilot domicile map. Verify against your specific posting: FA base availability rotates.

Your base is assigned near the start of training (reportedly within about two weeks of training start) — relocation flexibility is expected, and you should walk into the interview ready to say yes to any of them.

Which partner you fly for depends heavily on base — LGA and BOS lean Delta/American; EWR and ORD lean United/American — but your employer, uniform, seniority, and paycheck are Republic's across all three partner brands.

Post-merger caveat: the legacy-Mesa Phoenix operation is not part of Republic FA hiring until certificate integration completes (company guidance: single certificate roughly late 2027–2028). Republic postings cover Republic-certificate bases only.

Republic Airways flight attendant pay & reserve

Republic FAs are paid per flight hour (doors closed) with a 75-flight-hour monthly guarantee. Delays and cancellations before door close generate no hourly pay — candidate reviews call this out explicitly — so never compute "salary" from a 160-hour office month. Numbers below are as of August 2026:

• Starting rate: "progressive pay starting above $27/hour" per careers.rjet.com. At the 75-hour guarantee that's roughly $2,050+/month base before boarding pay and per diem. The new joint contract likely improved the scale, but no post-contract rate sheet is published — ask at offer rather than trusting any exact number you see online. ($55K "starting salary" figures circulating for Republic are pilot-side contamination; FA year one is low-$30ks before boarding-pay effects.)
• Boarding pay: YES, as of July 2026. The Republic/Mesa joint collective bargaining agreement (tentative agreement December 2025, ratification vote opened January 5, 2026) introduced boarding pay matching the standard mainline 50% formula, adding up to 16% to compensation on average per the unions' description. Management confirmed the provisions became active in July 2026. This is a legitimate talking point — one of the first regionals with contractual boarding pay.
• Guaranteed 11 days off per month — company-page verbatim, and the strongest published work-rule floor.
• Per diem: paid during trips and even during training, but the rate is not published — ask at offer.
• Other published benefits: holiday overtime pay, 401(k) with company match, healthcare, and free/reduced travel across the American, Delta, and United networks — a three-network nonrev footprint no other large regional matches except SkyWest's four. No FA profit-sharing program was found.
• Union structure — unusual and worth understanding: Republic-certificate FAs are represented by the International Brotherhood of Teamsters Local 135 (2,000+ FAs); legacy-Mesa FAs by AFA-CWA until certificate and seniority integration completes (~late 2027–2028). New hires join the Republic/IBT side. Don't claim "one seniority list" (premature) or "Mesa is gone" (its separate certificate persists as of mid-2026).

Reserve reality: reserve specifics aren't published — expect on-call scheduling, holidays worked, and base assignment during training. The 11-days-off guarantee is the floor you can actually cite.

Republic Airways flight attendant requirements

Republic Airways requires flight attendants to be 20 by their first interview, hold a high school diploma or GED plus at least two years of customer service experience, and meet a functional reach/wingspan test.

• Minimum age: 20 years of age by the date of the first interview (source: prep-site/job-posting consensus, checked 2026-08).
• Education: High school diploma or GED plus at least two years of customer service experience, per posting consensus (source: job-posting consensus, checked 2026-08).
• Height / reach: We didn't find a published height minimum or maximum (checked 2026-08). Republic uses a functional reach/wingspan requirement instead; the exact threshold hasn't been confirmed against Republic's current posting, so check it before assessing your eligibility (source: cabincrewhq.com, checked 2026-08).
• Tattoos: Per posting language, tattoos are prohibited on the face, including the underside of the chin and cheeks; on the neck down to where a uniform shirt collar would clearly and consistently cover; and on the hands through the wrist bone. Tattoos elsewhere "must not be visible at any time while in uniform" (source: posting language surfaced through search extracts in 2026-08 and Cabin Crew HQ). These rules haven't been confirmed against the current official posting, so check it before applying..
• Passport & work authorization: U.S. work authorization, plus unrestricted travel within Republic's network (U.S., Canada, Caribbean, Mexico). We couldn't confirm the passport wording — check the live posting (source: job-posting consensus, checked 2026-08).
• Languages: English fluency is required; no bilingual pay program has been found (source: job-posting consensus, checked 2026-08).

Requirements change between hiring windows — confirm them on the Republic Airways careers page before you apply.

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