(officially Hawaii Island Air, Inc., doing business as Island Air) is an independent commuter
Airline based in
Honolulu ,
Hawaii ,
USA . It operates scheduled inter-island passenger services in Hawaii.
Honolulu International Airport on
Oahu and
Kahului Airport on
Maui are its hubs. With approximately eighty-eighty daily flights, Island Air is the leading commuter carrier in Hawaii.
The airline maintains
Code Sharing and
Frequent Flyer agreements with
Aloha Airlines ,
Continental Airlines ,
Hawaiian Airlines , and
United Airlines .
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.
Island Air operates services to the following domestic scheduled destinations (at January ,
Honolulu ,
Hoolehua ,
Kahului ,
Kapalua ,
Kauai ,
Kona and
Lanai City .
In addition to scheduled service, the airline makes its Dash 8 aircraft available for inter-island charter flights, and has a
Challenger 601 Business Jet available for worldwide charter flights.
The Island Air fleet consists of the following aircraft (at March 2006):
Island Air has agreed to lease two (with an option on a third) Dash 8 Q400 aircraft, a larger, seventy-eight seat version of the Dash 8. The first was delivered in early March 2006, with the second going into service in June 2006.
