An Alaskan charter airline has announced it will shut down after 66 years of service.
Kenai Aviation has declared itself ‘financially insolvent’ and ceased operations, cancelling all flights.
The firm’s owner, Joel Caldwell, issued a statement expressing his devastation at the events.
He wrote: ‘Where some see passengers, I see connecting Alaskans.
‘I see people I care about. I see a vibrant airline, full flights, growth, and the best crew of mechanics, ground staff, and pilots that I have ever had the pleasure of working with.
‘By all operational metrics, Kenai Aviation is successful. But yet, we are financially insolvent.’
The airline was founded in 1959 and served communities in Alaska.
Caldwell explained the chain of events that led to its insolvency: ‘At the end of 2017, I was sitting at my kitchen table in Kenai when I received the call that Jim Bielefeld [Kenai’s airport commissioner] was just about to finalise shutting down Kenai Aviation, but if I wanted to act quickly, we could step in and keep this historic airline alive.
Kenai Aviation is now ‘financially insolvent’ and has ceased operations, cancelling all flights
‘It was only a few years later that I watched our first scheduled flight take off.
‘Then Covid happened. The pandemic response affected all of us, but for most people it’s just a painful memory.
‘For me, and for Kenai Aviation, Covid gave us a debt load that we haven’t been able to get back on top of.
‘Carrying that burden increased the effects of every obstacle that we’ve had to navigate. When our plane was grounded for maintenance and not being able to serve Unalakleet this summer not only hurt a community that I love, it hurt us financially too.
‘The King Air is back up and running, our flights to Anchorage are full. But today, the bank is calling that debt. We have to cease all operations immediately. I am devastated.
‘Our operations may stop, but this vision continues.’
Caldwell said he refused to give up and was hunting for an investor to save the airline.
He added: ‘While today all flights cease operations, who knows what tomorrow will hold. It’s hard to ground a vision.’
Kenai Aviation had a fleet of just seven small charter planes (stock)
Kenai Aviation had a fleet of just seven charter planes.
This included the Tecnam Traveller P2012, a ‘modern, twin-engine, high-wing, piston-powered aircraft’, tailored for regional air transport.
Another of its fleet was the Beechcraft Super King Air B200, ‘a twin-turboprop aircraft that has earned a reputation as one of the most versatile, reliable, and enduring aircraft in its class’.
It was used for corporate transport, medical evacuation and special missions.
