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| Founded | 1980 (as Princeville Airways) | |||
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| Hubs | Honolulu International Airport Kahului Airport |
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| Frequent-flyer program | Cloud 9 | |||
| Fleet size | 6 | |||
| Destinations | 8 | |||
| Company slogan | Always here to take you there. | |||
| Parent company | Hawaii Island Air, Inc. | |||
| Headquarters | Honolulu, Hawaii, U.S. | |||
| Key people | Leslie Kaneshiro (CEO) | |||
| Website | http://www.islandair.com | |||
Island Air (officially Hawaii Island Air, Inc.) is an independent American commuter airline based in Honolulu CDP, City and County of Honolulu, Hawaii.[1][2] It operates scheduled inter-island passenger services in Hawaii. Its main base is Honolulu International Airport[3] on Oahu, with a hub at Kahului Airport on Maui.
The airline maintains code sharing and frequent flyer agreements with Continental Airlines, Hawaiian Airlines, go!, and United Airlines. It also operates its own frequent flyer program, Cloud 9.
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Island Air was incorporated in 1980 by Colorado-based Consolidated Oil and Gas as Princeville Airways. It began scheduled services on September 9, 1980, between Honolulu and Princeville using two DHC-6 Twin Otter aircraft. It served a regular commuter route between Princeville and Honolulu, primarily for Princeville Resort hotel guests. The Princeville Airways fleet consisted of eight DHC-6 Twin Otter aircraft.
In May 1987, Consolidated Oil and Gas sold Princeville Airways to Aloha Air Group, the parent company of Aloha Airlines. Princeville Airways was renamed Aloha IslandAir and served the growing inter-island commuter needs that Aloha Airlines could not accommodate with its larger jetliners. In June 1992, Aloha IslandAir registered the name Island Air as its trade name. In 1995, newly renamed Island Air was granted certification by the Federal Aviation Administration 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 Dash 8 aircraft.
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 routes from Kansas City International Airport to Joplin, Missouri, Grand Island, Nebraska, Harrison, Arkansas, and Hot Springs, Arkansas but did not announce specific starting dates.[4] 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.[5]
Island Air is wholly owned by Gavarnie Holding and has just under 300 employees (at May 2010).[6]
Island Air operates to seven inter-island destinations as of October 2010:[7]
Service between Honolulu and Lihue was discontinued on August 30, 2009, and service to Hilo was completely discontinued on August 17, 2009.[7]
The Island Air fleet includes the following aircraft (at May 2010):[6]
| Aircraft | Total | Passengers |
|---|---|---|
| Bombardier Dash 8-100 | 6 | 37 |
The airline took delivery of a Bombardier Q400 (N539DS) in March 2006 and on 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 Q400s rescheduled to 2007. The airline has since returned all Q400 aircraft and has no plans to return these aircraft to service.[8]
Aviation Week & Space Technology 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 ATR, Fokker, Saab, and SuperJet International.[9]
On October 28, 1989, a de Havilland Canada DHC-6 Twin Otter operating Aloha IslandAir Flight 1712 crashed in a mountain on approach to Hoolehua Airport, Hawaii. The crash killed all 20 on board.[10]
Cloud 9 is the travel rewards program of Island Air. The program's airline partners also include Hawaiian Airlines and Star Alliance members Continental Airlines and United Airlines. Aloha Airlines was formerly an airline partner until it discontinued passenger operations.[11]
The Cloud 9 program has no membership fee and any flight credits will be valid for 3 years following the date of the flight. Cloud 9 accounts which do not earn any flight credits for two years can be placed on "inactive status" and any credits on the account would be forfeited. After nine flight segments an one-way award ticket is credited to the member, and after 18 flight credits, a round trip award ticket.[12]
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