Indianapolis-based Republic Airways Holdings Inc. will be able to earn up to $27 million in income and payroll tax credits if it meets the job and investment goals over 12 years for the consolidation of operations at General Mitchell International Airport in Milwaukee and at Midwest’s headquarters in Oak Creek, Gov. Jim Doyle announced Tuesday. The consolidation plan will retain 800 jobs and create up to 800 more. Job functions include flight crews, heavy aircraft maintenance and technical support and reservations call center, Doyle said.

State and local government officials had been working to put together an incentive package aimed at attracting hundreds of airline-related jobs to the Milwaukee area. Republic chose Milwaukee over Denver and Indianapolis. The state of Colorado and the city of Denver offered a 10-year incentive package of about $16.5 million, according to sources.

Milwaukee's bid included free hangar space that Midwest Airlines now owns at General Mitchell International Airport. Republic would have had to pay about $2 million a year to lease that same amount of space from Continental Airlines at Denver International Airport, according to a source.

"Milwaukee has something we don't: free hangar space. We offered every incentive conceivable to Republic Airways, but we can't pay their rent for them," Denver Mayor John Hickenlooper said in a statement released by his office. "We understand this was a necessary business decision for Republic and in no way reflects on Frontier's continued commitment to Denver and Colorado or its outstanding workforce. We remain determined to help in any way we can as Republic continues to realign its operations."

The state of Wisconsin incentives package was made through the Wisconsin Department of Commerce’s EZ-10 program, which was expanded in the last budget to include retention and consolidation projects, Doyle said. The EZ-10 Program creates a 12-year Enterprise Zone for the company.