The US Department of Transportation (DOT) has granted a request from Aeko Kula LLC, dba Aloha Air Cargo (KH, Honolulu), to increase its fleet from five to seven large aircraft (that is, an airframe with a maximum capacity of more than 60 passenger seats or a maximum payload capacity of 18,000 pounds), ch-aviation research has revealed.
Additionally, the DOT granted an amendment of Aloha’s interstate certificate authority which had required it to remain a wholly-owned subsidiary of Saltchuk Aviation.
Aloha Air Cargo filed this application on January 31, 2023 in an effort to remove the restrictions imposed in 2008, when it was in Chapter 7 bankruptcy and its then parent Aloha Airlines was in Chapter 11. Shortly afterwards, Seattle-based Saltchuk Resources bought the cargo division for USD10.5 million.
In its filing, Aeko Kula argued that it is the only Part 121 air carrier operating large aircraft to transport intra-Hawaiian mail on behalf of the United States Postal Service, but being capacity-constrained has caused problems to the USPS, which in turn has had to resort to moving mail between islands by boat.
The airline has been operating large aircraft for over 16 years, the DOT said in its filing, and has shown itself to be financially stable, reporting a net profit of approximately USD25.8 million on USD147.5 million in revenue in 2023, and a USD2.9 million net profit on USD32.4 million in revenue in the first quarter of 2024.
The ch-aviation fleets module shows that Aloha Air Cargo’s fleet comprises one B737-300(F), three B737-300(SF)s, two B737-400(F)s, and two B767-300ER(BCF)s wet-leased from sister company Northern Air Cargo (NC, Anchorage Ted Stevens).
Aloha Air Cargo is under the Saltchuck Aviation umbrella alongside Northern Air Cargo, Ryan Air Alaska, and StratAir.
ch-aviation has reached out to Saltchuk Aviation for comment on its plans for Aloha Air Cargo.
