Island Air signs on with Aloha
ACS will provide passenger services for their 13th client
Aloha Contract Services, the newly formed division of
Pacific Air Cargo LLC, will become the new air services contractor for interisland carrier
Island Air.
The contract is scheduled to be signed this afternoon, followed by a reception with transportation officials and dignitaries.
"We are very proud and excited to have formed a new partnership with Aloha Contract Services," Les Murashige, chief operating officer of Island Air, said in a statement. "ACS will certainly provide the quality service that our discriminating customers have come to expect."
Since the closure of Aloha Airlines, Island Air has increased services from Honolulu to Lihue and Kahului. Island Air also offers departures between Honolulu and Kauai, Molokai, Lanai, Maui and the Big Island.
"It's a win-win situation," Pacific Air Cargo President and CEO Beti Ward said. "Island Air will receive very personalized service from our local firm and we plan to be an integral part of their growth."
In May, Ward's eight-year-old company purchased the contract services division of Aloha Airlines, creating Aloha Contract Services. In doing so, 1,000 Aloha Airlines local jobs were rescued.
With the contract, 100 staff positions have been added, many of them filled by former Aloha Airlines workers.
Aloha Contract Services and Pacific Air Cargo share a 65,000-square-foot hub facility at Honolulu International Airport. Pacific Air Cargo also has a hub at Los Angeles International Airport.
Aloha Contract Services provides passenger services, including curbside assistance, ramp and cabin cleaning, aircraft maintenance, ground support equipment maintenance and facility maintenance, as well as cargo warehousing.
With Island Air on board, Aloha Contract Services now provides services for 13 of the major carriers servicing Hawaii.
Other deals are in the works in Hawaii, but cannot be disclosed yet, according to Bobby Soon, director of marketing for Aloha Contract Services.
Soon said there is no contract with Kona-based Mokulele Airlines, which earlier this year reached an agreement with Aloha Airlines to fly cargo to smaller neighbor island cities.
Mokulele said in April it plans to continue with its own cargo expansion, named Mokulele Air Cargo.