Aloha Air Cargo

Aeko Kula, LLC, DBA Aloha Air Cargo, is an all-cargo airline in the United States, headquartered in Honolulu, Hawaii,^[3]^[4] operating from a hub at Daniel K. Inouye International Airport. Formerly Aloha Airlines, it became an independent cargo operator following the closure of the passenger airline in 2008.

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History

Aloha Airlines was formed in 1946 and expanded over the next few decades. It filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection in the United States Bankruptcy Court for the District of Hawaii in 2004 in an attempt to cut costs and remain competitive with other airlines serving Hawaii. Following approval of new labor contracts and securing additional investment from new investors, the airline emerged from bankruptcy protection on February 17, 2006. The airline filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection again on March 20, 2008.^[5] Ten days later, on March 30, 2008, Aloha Airlines announced the suspension of all scheduled passenger flights, with the final day of operation to be March 31, 2008.^[6]

After the shutdown of passenger operations, Aloha and its creditors sought to auction off its profitable cargo and contract services division. Several companies expressed interest in purchasing Aloha's cargo division, including Seattle-based Saltchuk Resources, California-based Castle & Cooke Aviation, and Hawaii-based Kahala Capital (which included Richard Ing, a minority investor in the Aloha Air Group and member of Aloha's board of directors).^[7] However, a disagreement between cargo division bidders and Aloha's primary lender, GMAC Commercial Finance, ended with the bidders dropping out of the auction.^[8] Almost immediately afterwards, GMAC halted all funding to Aloha's cargo division, forcing all cargo operations to cease; at the same time, Aloha's board of directors decided to convert its Chapter 11 bankruptcy reorganization filing into a Chapter 7 bankruptcy liquidation.^[8]^[9]

Saltchuk Resources decided to renew its bid to purchase the cargo division at the urging of U.S. Senator Daniel Inouye, and a deal between Aloha and Saltchuk was struck and approved by the federal bankruptcy court, where Saltchuk would purchase the cargo division for $10.5 million.^[10] The sale was approved by federal Bankruptcy Judge Lloyd King on May 12, 2008, with the sale expected to close two days later.^[11]

Prior to its bid for Aloha, Saltchuk Resources was already present in Hawaii through its subsidiaries Young Brothers/Hawaiian Tug & Barge, Hawaii Fuel Network, Maui Petroleum and Minit Stop Stores. The company also owns Northern Air Cargo, Alaska's largest cargo airline. A new subsidiary, Aeko Kula, LLC., was set up by Saltchuk to operate Aloha Air Cargo.

On May 15, 2008, the airline received its FAA and Department of Transport authority to operate as an independent airline. The airline went through a big transformation in the first two years of operation. The airline's first president, Mike Malik, rebranded the airline; launched a host of new products and services; and established "Aloha Tech Ops", the MRO division. During this time the airline won numerous awards and was named Hawaii's Cargo Airline of the year for 2008.^[12]

Destinations

United States

Fleet

The Aloha Air Cargo fleet consisted of the following aircraft, as of August 2016:^[13]

**Aloha Air Cargo Fleet**
Aircraft	Total Active	Orders	Cargo Capacity	Notes
Boeing 737-300F	3	—	42,900 lbs
Boeing 767-300F	1	—	TBA	Operated by Air Transport International.^[14]

The airline fleet previously included the following aircraft (as of June 2014):^[15]

4 Boeing 737-200C (stored) former aircraft of Aloha Airlines
1 Boeing 767-300F Leased from ABX Air^[16]
3 Saab 340AF

Incidents

October 16, 2014 - N301KH a Boeing 737-300F performing freight flight from Lanai, HI to Honolulu, HI experienced a cargo shift on take-off but the crew managed to control the aircraft and continued for a safe landing in Honolulu. The shifting cargo damaged the rear bulkhead. The incident was thought to have been caused by the cargo not being properly strapped to the floor.

References

^ Norwood, Tom; Wegg, John (2002). North American Airlines Handbook (3rd ed.). Sandpoint, ID: Airways International. p. 9. ISBN 0-9653993-8-9. Archived from the original on 2016-11-28. Retrieved 2018-10-13.
^ "Federal Aviation Administration - Airline Certificate Information - Detail View". av-info.faa.gov. Retrieved 2019-06-27.
^ "Honolulu CDP, HI Archived 2008-02-18 at the Wayback Machine." U.S. Census Bureau. Retrieved on May 21, 2009.
^ "Locations Archived 2009-05-22 at the Wayback Machine." Aloha Air Cargo. Retrieved on May 21, 2009.
^ Blair, Chad (March 20, 2008). "Aloha Airlines files for second bankruptcy in 3 years, blames go! for losses". American City Business Journals.
^ McAvoy, Audrey (2008-03-30). "Aloha Airlines halting passenger service". BusinessWeek. Archived from the original on May 23, 2011. Retrieved 2008-04-25.
^ Segal, Dave (2008-04-02). "Turbulent aftermath". Honolulu Star-Bulletin. Archived from the original on 2008-04-05. Retrieved 2008-05-03.
^ ^a ^b Segal, Dave (2008-04-29). "Bidders drop out and funding halts". Honolulu Star-Bulletin. Archived from the original on 2008-05-06. Retrieved 2008-05-03.
^ "Bankruptcy and Debt Relief".
^ Segal, Dave (2008-05-02). "Return flight". Honolulu Star-Bulletin. Archived from the original on 2008-05-06. Retrieved 2008-05-03.
^ Segal, Dave (2008-05-13). "Court allows Seattle firm to buy Aloha's cargo division". Honolulu Star-Bulletin. Archived from the original on 2008-05-17. Retrieved 2008-05-14.
^ Segal, Dave (2008-05-15). "Aloha Air Cargo is 'official'". Honolulu Star-Bulletin. Retrieved 2008-08-14.
^ "Global Airline Guide 2016 (Part Two)". Airliner World (November 2016): 37.
^ "N399CM Aloha Air Cargo Boeing 767-300". www.planespotters.net.
^ Gomes, Andrew (2008-04-01). "Aloha's cargo unit still in business". The Honolulu Advertiser. Archived from the original on 2008-04-05. Retrieved 2008-04-01.
^ "Aloha Air Cargo leasing an ABX Air freighter for LAX flights". Retrieved 14 July 2016.

Bibliography

Forman, Peter (2005). Wings of Paradise: Hawaii's Incomparable Airlines. Kailua, HI: Barnstormer Books. ISBN 978-0-9701594-4-1.
Young, Branden (July–August 2006). "Aloha Airlines: Ready to Protect Their Beachfront in Paradise". Airliners: The World's Aviation Magazine. Airliners Publications. pp. 35–39.