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President Donald Trump has chosen a longtime central Indiana executive to helm the Federal Aviation Administration.
Bryan Bedford, president and CEO of Carmel-based Republic Airways Holdings Inc., was nominated by Trump on Monday to oversee the agency, which has been without a leader since the president took office. Republic is a regional airline that manages nearly 1,000 flights a day for multiple major airlines.
Trump congratulated Bedford on his nomination in a post on Truth Social on Monday evening: “Bryan will work with our GREAT Secretary of Transportation, Sean Duffy, to strongly reform the Agency, safeguard our exports, and ensure the safety of nearly one billion annual passenger movements.”
Bedford joined Republic as president and CEO in 1999 after stints with Minneapolis-based Mesaba Holdings Inc. and Boston-based Business Express Airlines Inc. He also holds multi-engine and instrument pilot ratings, according to Republic.
During his time at Republic, the airline has grown from $85 million in revenue and 36 turboprop aircraft to more than $1.3 billion in revenue and an operating fleet of over 230 E-Jet aircraft.
IBJ has reached out to Bedford and Republic Airways for comment.
The aviation administration is under intense scrutiny following one of the deadliest aviation incidents in recent history: a January collision between an American Airlines jet and a military helicopter outside Ronald Reagan International Airport that killed 67 people. There are also growing concerns regarding national shortages of pilots and air traffic controllers and the quality of controllers’ operating systems.
In a joint statement, Reps. Sam Graves, R-Missouri, and Troy Nehls, R-Texas, who chair the Transportation and Infrastructure Committee and Aviation Subcommittee, respectively, encouraged Congress to quickly confirm the nomination.
“As a pilot and someone with decades of first-hand experience in the aviation industry, Bryan is a great choice to lead the FAA,” they said. “We look forward to working with him on modernizing and staffing our air traffic control system, ensuring the safety of the entire aviation system for travelers, and strengthening this critical component of our economy.”
Scott Kirby, CEO of United Airlines—one of the companies for which Republic oversees flights—congratulated Bedford on LinkedIn: “Having worked with Bryan for two decades, I have total confidence in his ability to lead the FAA at this critical time.”
Republic Airways, which became privately held in 2017 after it emerged from bankruptcy, was the second-largest regional airline in the United States in 2022, according to the Regional Airline Association’s 2023 annual report. (When the company emerged from bankruptcy, United took a 25% equity stake in the regional airline, and American Airlines took 19%.)
Republic flies a fleet of 221 76-seat Embraer 170 and 175 planes. St. George, Utah-based SkyWest Airlines was the largest, with 491 aircraft.
Regional airlines connect cities that lack sufficient demand or infrastructure to support flights from major airlines’ larger planes, like the Boeing 737, that operate between hub airports. Republic partners with American Airlines, Delta Air Lines and United Airlines to transport travelers on nearly 1,000 flights a day to East Coast destinations such as John F. Kennedy and LaGuardia airports in New York; Philadelphia International Airport; and Reagan National.
Republic has more than 6,000 employees, which includes 2,000 pilots, 2,000 flight attendants, 600 maintenance technicians and 300 systems operations control associates who handle dispatch and crew scheduling.
Republic moved its headquarters from Indianapolis to Carmel in September 2021.
Bedford was named a 2024 Indiana 250 honoree.
IBJ reporter Daniel Bradley contributed to this story.
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Good pick.
Good luck to him. If he thought shareholders were a nuisance, wait until he floats new funding proposals to fix the problems. Republican Congress, hell bent on cutting spending, is not likely to go along, nor will he likely receive support from the MAGAts and MUSKrats at the White House. They talk a good game; I doubt they’ll deliver once they get the price tag. I suspect Mumps and Trusk have already spent time trying to figure out how to cut the FAA without anyone noticing…