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Republic Airways Holdings said Tuesday it will buy struggling Midwest Airlines for $31 million in cash and debt, the second time in two days it has sought to rescue an ailing airline.

On Monday, Republic said it would bid $108.8 million to take Frontier Airlines out of bankruptcy.

Republic Chairman and CEO Bryan Bedford said he plans to keep the Midwest name, and intends to restore Midwest to the size it was about a year and a half ago. He said he intends to get Midwest flying back to cities it had dropped, citing the recently announced return of flights to Los Angeles and Louisville, Ky., set to begin in August.

Adding Midwest and Frontier are big risks for Republic, and not just because of concerns about the individual carriers.

Until now Indianapolis-based Republic has flown under contract for other big airlines: American, Delta, US Airways, United, and Continental. That meant its main job was controlling costs, not filling seats. But by adding Frontier and Midwest, Republic exposes itself to travel downturns and competition from other airlines.

"The point is revenue diversity," Bedford said of the new additions. He cited the combination of Delta Air Lines Inc. and Northwest as well as the talk about the possibility of more airline mergers, saying, "the fact is, if the people we partner with are merging, our diversity goes the other direction.