Advantage Rent A Car said yesterday it will be closing its Hawaii operations after a drop in leisure travel forced the company to file for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection yesterday in U.S. Bankruptcy Court in Minneapolis.

The Kahului airport and Nimitz Highway rental locations will close once all rental cars are returned, said Jon Austin, a company spokesman. They are among 21 locations in 10 primarily Western states that have stopped renting cars and will shut down operations within a week or two, he said. Repeated calls to both isle locations were not answered.

The Honolulu location employs roughly 35 workers, while the Maui location is slightly smaller, Austin said. Approximately 440 Advantage employees have received layoff notifications overall.

The company continues to rent from its fleet of Chrysler cars at 10 locations that will remain open in six states.

Customers currently renting vehicles from Advantage in Hawaii should return their vehicles as scheduled, the company said in a statement. Hertz Car Rental will honor nearly all of the pending reservations at affected locations.

The shutdowns allow the company to focus on its most profitable, high-volume locations, Austin said. The company has not yet disclosed how much money it expects to save.

The company is exploring a reorganization of the businesses, sale or merger. No decisions have yet been made on what will happen to the isle buildings and property, Austin said.

Advantage is privately held by Denny Hecker Family Ventures , with executive offices in Minneapolis and a headquarters in San Antonio.