Hawaii's Island Air shuts down after 37 years of flight

Hawaii's second-largest airline, Island Air, shut down Friday after exhausting all options to keep flying. Island Air, which has about 400 employees, made the announcement Thursday. The company filed for bankruptcy protection Oct 16 after its aircraft lessor attempted to repossess the company's 3 remaining Q400 aircraft for non-payment. The airline lost money every quarter for the past 4-plus years. It flew inter-island routes within the state of Hawaii for 37 years. "Island Air has taken every measure possible to avoid this tremendous hardship to its passengers," said David Uchiyama, Island Air president. Hawaiian Airlines said it will honour Island Air tickets for the next week on a standby basis. <br/>