Island Air (officially Hawaii Island Air) was a commuter airline based in

Honolulu, Hawaii Honolulu (; ) is the capital and largest city of the U.S. state of Hawaii, which is in the Pacific Ocean. It is an unincorporated county seat of the consolidated City and County of Honolulu, situated along the southeast coast of the island o ...

. It operated scheduled inter-island passenger services in Hawaii. Its main base was the

Daniel K. Inouye International Airport Daniel K. Inouye International Airport , also known as Honolulu International Airport, is the main airport of Oahu, Hawaii. on

Oahu Oahu () (Hawaiian language, Hawaiian: ''Oʻahu'' ()), also known as "The Gathering place#Island of Oʻahu as The Gathering Place, Gathering Place", is the third-largest of the Hawaiian Islands. It is home to roughly one million people—over t ...

. The airline maintained a

code share In communications and information processing, code is a system of rules to convert information—such as a letter, word, sound, image, or gesture—into another form, sometimes shortened or secret, for communication through a communication c ...

and

frequent flyer A frequent-flyer program (American English) or frequent-flyer programme (British English) is a loyalty program offered by an airline. Many airlines have frequent-flyer programs designed to encourage airline customers enrolled in the program ...

agreement with

United Airlines United Airlines, Inc. (commonly referred to as United), is a major American airline headquartered at the Willis Tower in Chicago, Illinois.

Hawaiian Airlines Hawaiian Airlines ( haw, Hui Mokulele o Hawaiʻi ) is the largest operator of commercial flights to and from the U.S. state of Hawaii. It is the tenth-largest commercial airline in the United States, and is based at Honolulu, Hawaii. The airl ...

halted its commercial relationship with Island Air in 2012 when it announced plans to begin operating

ATR 42 The ATR 42 is a regional airliner produced by Franco-Italian manufacturer ATR, with final assembly in Toulouse, France. On 4 November 1981, the aircraft was launched with ATR, as a joint venture between French Aérospatiale (now Airbus) and ...

regional turboprop airliners in the islands under its own brand. Island Air also operated its own frequent flyer program, Island Miles (formerly Cloud 9). Island Air ceased all operations on 10 November 2017 after 37 years of service between

Hawaii Hawaii ( ; haw, Hawaii or ) is a state in the Western United States, located in the Pacific Ocean about from the U.S. mainland. It is the only U.S. state outside North America, the only state that is an archipelago, and the only stat ...

's islands, carrying 13% of intra-Hawaii seats in the first three quarters of 2017, competing against

carrying 80%. For the second quarter of 2017, Island Air posted an operating loss of $4.9 million and a net loss of $8.2 million, and filed for

Chapter 11 Chapter 11 of the United States Bankruptcy Code (Title 11 of the United States Code) permits reorganization under the bankruptcy laws of the United States. Such reorganization, known as Chapter 11 bankruptcy, is available to every business, wheth ...

bankruptcy protection on 17 October as it couldn't find new investors to satisfy lessors

Wells Fargo Wells Fargo & Company is an American multinational financial services company with corporate headquarters in San Francisco, California; operational headquarters in Manhattan; and managerial offices throughout the United States and intern ...

Bank Northwest and

Elix 8 Elix may refer to: * Əlix, a village in the municipality of Quturğan in the Qusar Rayon of Azerbaijan * John Alan Elix (born 1941) (Elix), an Australian lichenologist See also * Helix (disambiguation) A helix is a spiral-like space curve. Heli ...

who want to repossess its five

Bombardier Q400 The De Havilland Canada DHC-8, commonly known as the Dash 8, is a series of turboprop-powered regional airliners, introduced by de Havilland Canada (DHC) in 1984. DHC was later bought by Boeing in 1988, then by Bombardier in 1992; then by ...

s, which replaced five

ATR ATR may refer to: Medicine * Acute transfusion reaction * Ataxia telangiectasia and Rad3 related, a protein involved in DNA damage repair Science and mathematics * Advanced Test Reactor, nuclear research reactor at the Idaho National Laboratory, ...

History

Princeville Airways

Island Air was incorporated in 1980 by

Colorado Colorado (, other variants) is a state in the Mountain West subregion of the Western United States. It encompasses most of the Southern Rocky Mountains, as well as the northeastern portion of the Colorado Plateau and the western edge of t ...

-based Consolidated Oil and Gas as Princeville Airways. It began scheduled services on September 9, 1980, between Honolulu (HNL) and Princeville,

Kauai Kauai, () anglicized as Kauai ( ), is geologically the second-oldest of the main Hawaiian Islands (after Niʻihau). With an area of 562.3 square miles (1,456.4 km2), it is the fourth-largest of these islands and the 21st largest island ...

(HPV) using two

de Havilland Canada DHC-6 Twin Otter The de Havilland Canada DHC-6 Twin Otter is a Canadian STOL (Short Takeoff and Landing) utility aircraft developed by de Havilland Canada, which produced the aircraft from 1965 to 1988; Viking Air purchased the type certificate, then restarted ...

STOL A short takeoff and landing (STOL) aircraft is a conventional fixed-wing aircraft that has short runway requirements for takeoff and landing. Many STOL-designed aircraft also feature various arrangements for use on airstrips with harsh conditio ...

capable turboprop aircraft. It served this initial regular commuter route between Princeville and Honolulu primarily for Princeville Resort guests. The airline then expanded its interisland routes with service to Hana, Maui; Hoolehua, Molokai; Kahului, Maui; Kamuela, Hawaii (Big Island); Kapalua, Maui (West Maui) and Lanai City, Lanai. The Princeville Airways fleet was expanded and eventually consisted of eight DHC-6 Twin Otter aircraft.

Aloha Island Air

In May 1987, Consolidated Oil and Gas sold Princeville Airways to Aloha Air Group, the parent company of

Aloha Airlines Aloha Airlines was an American airline headquartered in Honolulu, Hawaii, operating from a hub at Honolulu International Airport (now Daniel K. Inouye International Airport). Operations began on July 26, 1946, and ceased operations on March 31 ...

. Princeville Airways was renamed Aloha Island Air and served the growing inter-island commuter market on behalf of Aloha Airlines on routes that could not justify larger

Boeing 737-200 The Boeing 737 is a narrow-body aircraft produced by Boeing at its Boeing Renton Factory, Renton Factory in Washington (state), Washington. Developed to supplement the Boeing 727 on short and thin routes, the twinjet retains the Boeing 707, 7 ...

jetliners operated by Aloha. In June 1992, Aloha Island Air registered the name Island Air as its trade name. In 1995, newly renamed Island Air was granted certification by the

Federal Aviation Administration The Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) is the largest transportation agency of the U.S. government and regulates all aspects of civil aviation in the country as well as over surrounding international waters. Its powers include air traffic m ...

to operate larger aircraft to serve the burgeoning commuter market in Hawaii. In April of that year, Island Air took possession of its first thirty-seven seat

de Havilland Canada DHC-8 Dash 8 The De Havilland Canada DHC-8, commonly known as the Dash 8, is a series of turboprop-powered regional airliners, introduced by de Havilland Canada (DHC) in 1984. DHC was later bought by Boeing in 1988, then by Bombardier in 1992; then by ...

aircraft.

Ownership under Gavarnie Holding, LLC

In December 2003, it was announced that Gavarnie Holding, LLC would purchase Aloha IslandAir from the Aloha AirGroup, making Island Air Hawaii's third largest independent airline. The purchase was completed on May 11, 2004, and the company was renamed Hawaii Island Air, Inc., although the airline continued to do business as "Island Air". After the purchase, Island Air expanded its business, acquiring more aircraft and flying new routes. In May 2008, Island Air was awarded

Essential Air Service Essential Air Service (EAS) is a U.S. government program enacted to guarantee that small communities in the United States, which had been served by certificated airlines prior to deregulation in 1978, maintained commercial service. Its aim is t ...

routes from

Kansas City International Airport Kansas City International Airport (originally Mid-Continent International Airport) is a public airport in Kansas City, Missouri located northwest of Downtown Kansas City in Platte County, Missouri., effective December 30, 2021. The airport o ...

Joplin, Missouri Joplin is a city in Jasper County, Missouri, Jasper and Newton County, Missouri, Newton counties in the southwestern corner of the U.S. state of Missouri. The bulk of the city is in Jasper County, while the southern portion is in Newton County. J ...

Grand Island, Nebraska Grand Island is a city in and the county seat of Hall County, Nebraska, United States. The population was 53,131 at the 2020 census. Grand Island is the principal city of the Grand Island metropolitan area, which consists of Hall, Merrick, ...

Harrison, Arkansas Harrison is a city and the county seat of Boone County, Arkansas, United States. It is named after General Marcus LaRue Harrison, a surveyor who laid out the city along Crooked Creek at Stifler Springs. According to 2019 Census Bureau estimate ...

, and

Hot Springs, Arkansas Hot Springs is a resort city in the state of Arkansas and the county seat of Garland County. The city is located in the Ouachita Mountains among the U.S. Interior Highlands, and is set among several natural hot springs for which the city is n ...

but did not announce specific starting dates. The following month, however, the airline withdrew from its contract after concluding that a mid-September startup date was unrealistic, citing staffing and fuel costs. On August 17, 2009, Island Air discontinued all service to

Hilo Hilo () is a census-designated place (CDP) and the largest settlement in Hawaii County, Hawaii, Hawaii County, Hawaii, United States, which encompasses the Hawaii (island), Island of Hawaii. The population was 44,186 according to the 2020 United ...

. In 2012, as the Dash 8 fleet began to approach their useful cycle life, the airline reached out to

PenAir Peninsula Airways, operated as PenAir, was a U.S.-based regional airline headquartered in Anchorage, Alaska. It was Alaska's second-largest commuter airline operating scheduled passenger service, as well as charter and medevac services through ...

of Alaska and

wet leased Aircraft leases are leases used by airlines and other aircraft operators. Airlines lease aircraft from other airlines or leasing companies for two main reasons: to operate aircraft without the financial burden of buying them, and to provide tempora ...

a single

Saab 340 The Saab 340 is a Swedish twin-engine turboprop aircraft designed and initially produced by Saab AB and Fairchild Aircraft. It is designed to seat 30-36 passengers and, as of July 2018, there were 240 operational aircraft used by 34 different o ...

turboprop aircraft for 10 months. On July 19, 2012, Island Air revealed a new business model which included a complete image and brand overhaul. This coincided with the arrival of the airline's new ATR fleet of turboprop aircraft in August. The airline also unveiled a new website to go alongside its new brand and image launch. On October 4, 2012, Les Murashige was appointed as the company's new president and CEO replacing Lesley Kaneshiro.

Ownership under Ohana Airline Holdings, LLC

On January 10, 2013, Island Air announced that the company would be sold to an undisclosed buyer. On January 18, 2013,

Oracle Corporation Oracle Corporation is an American multinational computer technology corporation headquartered in Austin, Texas. In 2020, Oracle was the third-largest software company in the world by revenue and market capitalization. The company sells da ...

CEO A chief executive officer (CEO), also known as a central executive officer (CEO), chief administrator officer (CAO) or just chief executive (CE), is one of a number of corporate executives charged with the management of an organization especially ...

Larry Ellison Lawrence Joseph Ellison (born August 17, 1944) is an American business magnate and investor who is the co-founder, executive chairman, chief technology officer (CTO) and former chief executive officer (CEO) of the American computer technology ...

, who had recently acquired most of the island of Lanai from

David H. Murdock David Howard Murdock (born April 11, 1923) is an American billionaire businessman, plant-based diet advocate and philanthropist. Early career Murdock was born on April 11, 1923, in Kansas City, Missouri. His father was a traveling salesman; his ...

, was reported to be the buyer, though this was not confirmed by the airline at the time. On February 26, 2013, the sale to Ellison was complete. That same day, the airline certified its first

ATR 72 The ATR 72 is a twin-engine turboprop, short-haul regional airliner developed and produced in France and Italy by aircraft manufacturer ATR (french: Avions de transport régional or it, Aerei da Trasporto Regionale), a joint venture formed b ...

, which would go into service the following day. Ellison appointed Paul Casey, former CEO of

and President of the Hawaii Visitors and Convention Bureau as the company's new president and CEO. On May 31, 2013, Island Air ended service to Kapalua/West Maui Airport, as a result of phasing out the airline's

Dash 8 The De Havilland Canada DHC-8, commonly known as the Dash 8, is a series of turboprop-powered regional airliners, introduced by de Havilland Canada (DHC) in 1984. DHC was later bought by Boeing in 1988, then by Bombardier in 1992; then by ...

aircraft and the ATR 72's inability to land at the airport's short runway. In conjunction, service was resumed to Kahului, Maui on April 15, 2013. In 2014, Island Air discontinued service to Ho'olehua, Molokai. On September 3, 2014, in a surprise announcement, Island Air appointed David Pflieger, president and chief executive officer of Fort Lauderdale, Florida-based

Silver Airways Silver Airways LLC. is a United States regional airline with its headquarters in Fort Lauderdale–Hollywood International Airport in Broward County, Florida, near Fort Lauderdale. It was founded in 2011 with assets from the former Gulfstream I ...

to assume the roles of president and chief executive officer. Effective October 1, 2014, Pflieger replaced former

CEO Paul Casey who was asked to step down. Prior to Silver, Pflieger led the highly successful turnaround at

Fiji Airways Fiji Airways (trading as and formerly known as Air Pacific) is the flag carrier airline of Fiji and operates international services from its hubs in Fiji to 13 countries and 26 cities including, Australia, New Zealand, Samoa, Tonga, Tuvalu, K ...

and was a former

Virgin America Virgin America Inc. was a low-cost U.S. airline that operated from 2007 until 2018, when it was acquired by Alaska Airlines. The airline primarily focused on operating low-fare service between cities on the West Coast and other major metropoli ...

and

Delta Air Lines Delta Air Lines, Inc., typically referred to as Delta, is one of the major airlines of the United States and a legacy carrier. One of the List of airlines by foundation date, world's oldest airlines in operation, Delta is headquartered in Atla ...

senior executive. In December, 2014, the airline announced that due to six quarters of prior losses under previous management, it was delaying delivery of new

propjet aircraft and also undertaking a comprehensive re-assessment of its fleet, network, and other aspects of its business. On April 29, 2015, Island Air announced it would be eliminating Honolulu service to Kauai beginning June 1 and reducing daily frequency by more than half on its Lanai route starting on that date. The airline also announced it will be cutting its workforce by 20 percent as well as canceling delivery of new aircraft in the short term as the airline works to reposition itself as the second largest carrier in the islands. These changes come after the company cited record financial losses of more than $21 million last year alone. In September, 2015, Island Air began voluntarily reporting its much improved monthly and quarterly on-time performance and flight completion factor (80.4% and 99.2% respectively) so that current and potential customers can see how the airline is performing as it continues to improve and position itself for a strong future as Hawaii's alternative inter island airline. On January 7, 2016, Larry Ellison's Ohana Airline Holdings, LLC announced that it planned to sell a controlling interest in Island Air to PaCap Aviation Finance and Malama Investments, two investment companies managed by local investment firm, PacifiCap. On February 8, 2016, following the formal approval of the transfer in ownership by the U.S. Department of Transportation, it was announced that Dave Pflieger, who joined as CEO in October 2014 and presided over its successful restructuring, turnaround, and sale, would be leaving Island Air to work directly for Ellison in an unspecified role and turning the reins back over to Les Murashige, a former Island Air executive, who would become president and CEO under the airline's new owners, PacifiCap LLC.

Ownership under PacifiCap

On January 21, 2016, Island Air announced plans to restore service to Kauai beginning on March 15 after suspending flights in June 2015 due to restructuring. The airline stated that approximately 32 airport-related jobs would be created and hinted that expansion aren't done yet with hopes to re-enter other destinations that Island Air previously served. Island Air ended service to

Lanai Lanai ( haw, Lānai, , , also ,) is the sixth-largest of the Hawaiian Islands and the smallest publicly accessible inhabited island in the chain. It is colloquially known as the Pineapple Island because of its past as an island-wide pineapple pl ...

on March 31, 2016. On April 14, 2016, Island Air announced its plans to restart service between Honolulu and Kona starting June 14 with five daily round-trip flights. The last time Island Air served Kona was in December 2012. This service restoration was estimated to create 25 new airport-related jobs. Island Air president and CEO Les Murashige stated that

was also being evaluated. On April 26, 2016, Island Air's CEO Les Murashige and COO Rob Mauracher stepped down from their posts. This was the second time in two months that Island Air had experienced a reshuffling of their senior management team. Shortly thereafter, Island Air named David Uchiyama as its new president and CEO.

Destinations

On its last days of operations, Island Air served the following destinations:

Fleet

The airline took delivery of a

(N539DS) propjet in March 2006 via a five-year lease. In September 2006, the airline announced that it was withdrawing the aircraft from inter-island service the following month, with delivery of two additional Q400s rescheduled to 2007. The airline then returned all Q400 propjets and stated at the time that it had no plans to return these aircraft to service. However, the Q400 was eventually placed back into service by the airline. ''

Aviation Week & Space Technology ''Aviation Week & Space Technology'', often abbreviated ''Aviation Week'' or ''AW&ST'', is the flagship magazine of the Aviation Week Network. The weekly magazine is available in print and online, reporting on the aerospace, defense and aviati ...

'' reported on May 19, 2011, that the airline was looking to add one or two additional Dash 8 aircraft, and was also discussing new aircraft options with

Fokker Fokker was a Dutch aircraft manufacturer named after its founder, Anthony Fokker. The company operated under several different names. It was founded in 1912 in Berlin, Germany, and became famous for its fighter aircraft in World War I. In 1919 ...

Saab Saab or SAAB may refer to: Brands and enterprises * Saab Group, a Swedish aerospace and defence company, formerly known as SAAB, and later as Saab AB ** Datasaab, a former computer company, started as spin off from Saab AB * Saab Automobile, a fo ...

, and SuperJet International. The airline announced in late February 2012 that it had reached an agreement to lease six

regional turboprop aircraft, along with a smaller

turboprop

wet lease Aircraft leases are leases used by airlines and other aircraft operators. Airlines lease aircraft from other airlines or leasing companies for two main reasons: to operate aircraft without the financial burden of buying them, and to provide tempora ...

d from

. The airline stated in July 2012 that deliveries of

and ATR 72 aircraft would begin the following month. After acquiring the ATR 72 aircraft, Island Air found them to be unreliable to the point that the airline was reviewing potential replacements . On March 31, 2014, Island Air placed firm orders for two Bombardier Dash 8 Q400 regional turboprop aircraft with the intention of replacing the ATR 72 with Q400. Due to record financial losses of more than $21 million, on April 29, 2015, Island Air announced its intention to cancel the delivery of new Bombardier Dash 8 Q400 aircraft in the short term as the airline attempted to reposition itself as the second largest air carrier in the Hawaiian islands. On November 10, 2017, Island Air announced that they would cease operations after 37 years of service. The interisland air carrier was operating Bombardier Q400 turboprop aircraft at the time of its shutdown.

Accidents and incidents

On October 28, 1989, a

operating Aloha IslandAir Flight 1712 crashed into a mountainous terrain. The National Transportation Safety Board determined that the probable cause of this accident was the airplane's controlled flight into terrain as a result of the decision of the captain to continue flight under visual flight rules at night into instrument meteorological conditions, which obscured rising mountainous terrain.

Services

Island Miles

Island Miles (formerly Cloud 9) was the travel rewards program of Island Air. The program's airline partners included

Star Alliance Star Alliance is the world's largest global airline alliance. Founded on 14 May 1997, its CEO is Jeffrey Goh and its headquarters is located in Frankfurt am Main, Germany. , Star Alliance is the largest of the three global alliances by passenger ...

member

United Airlines United Airlines, Inc. (commonly referred to as United), is a major American airline headquartered at the Willis Tower in Chicago, Illinois.

. Island Air also had an interline agreement with

American Airlines American Airlines is a major airlines of the United States, major US-based airline headquartered in Fort Worth, Texas, within the Dallas–Fort Worth metroplex. It is the Largest airlines in the world, largest airline in the world when measured ...

was formerly an airline partner until it discontinued passenger operations. The Island Miles program had no membership fee and flight credits were valid for three years following the date of the flight. Island Miles accounts which did not earn any flight credits for two years could be placed on "inactive status" and any credits on the account would have been forfeited. After six flight segments, a one-way award ticket was credited to the member, and after 12 flight credits, a round trip award ticket.

References

External links

Island Air

Island Air's history
{{Airlines of the United States, state=collapsed Defunct airlines of the United States Airlines established in 1980 Airlines disestablished in 2017 Defunct regional airlines of the United States Companies that filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy in 2017 Companies that have filed for Chapter 7 bankruptcy Companies based in Honolulu Regional Airline Association members Transportation in Honolulu 1980 establishments in Hawaii 2017 disestablishments in Hawaii Defunct companies based in Hawaii

History

Princeville Airways

Aloha Island Air

Ownership under Gavarnie Holding, LLC

Ownership under Ohana Airline Holdings, LLC

Ownership under PacifiCap

Destinations

Fleet

Accidents and incidents

Services

Island Miles

References

Further reading

External links