An aviation professional of nearly three decades, David “Dave” Pflieger joined Hawaii Island Air, Inc. (Island Air) in October of 2014. As President and CEO, Dave Pflieger led the airline through a highly successful restructuring and turnaround that resulted in its recent sale to a group of local Hawaii investors.
2. Introduction
An aviation professional of nearly three decades, David “Dave”
Pflieger joined Hawaii Island Air, Inc. (Island Air) in October of 2014.
As President and CEO, Dave Pflieger led the airline through a
highly successful restructuring and turnaround that resulted in its
recent sale to a group of local Hawaii investors.
In early 2016, the U.S. Department of Transportation approved the
purchase of a controlling interest in Island Air to PaCap Aviation
Finance, LLC, and Malama Investments, LLC, both run by Hawaiian
venture capitalist Jeffrey Au and his venture capital firm, PacifiCap.
With assistance from Dave Pflieger and an ownership transition
team, PaCap and Malama recently announced a new local
leadership team who plan to grow the airline so it can serve
Hawaii’s neighbor islands while offering more affordable fares to
local and overseas travellers.
3. PaCap and Malama
PaCap and Malama have tapped former Island Air
president Les Murashige to serve as the new
President and CEO. For the chief operating officer
position, the airline is appointing Rob Mauracher,
another former chief executive officer with Island
Air. In addition, David Uchiyama will be joining the
team as its chief commercial officer. Uchiama
offers expertise in marketing and sales, as well
significant knowledge of the local travel industry
due to previous tenure as a senior executive at
the Hawaii Tourism Authority.