USA: Empire Airlines Inc, dba Empire Aerospace Adds Embraer ERJ 145 All Series To Ops Specs

On December 18, 2015 Empire Aerospace a subsidiary of Empire Airlines received amended Operating Specifications , adding the ERJ 145 to its maintenance capabilities.

Empire Aerospace has performed heavy maintenance on large turbo-prop aircraft for the past 10 years. We are known for our ATR experience throughout North America, providing service to U.S. and Canadian based operators.

With the lack of growth of turbo-prop operations in North America, Empire realizedan additional market opportunity in collaborating with operators of regional jet aircraft.

Using industry outlooks and trend analysis, and through discussions with operators at the Regional Airline Association conventions in St. Louis in 2014 and Cleveland in 2015, the decision was made to add the Embraer ERJ 145 to our Operating Specifications. Working with our customers and the Federal Aviation Administration, Empire Aerospace added the ERJ 145 to our capabilities.

This is an exciting new chapter in the history of Empire Aerospace as one of the leading aviation companies in the Idaho Panhandle. With the addition of the ERJ 145, Empire Aerospace continues to meet regional airline needs by providing premier customer service through dedication to quality, and expanding its capabilities at a fair price.

Empire Airlines is an Idaho based company with over 350 employees providing air cargo services for FedEx in 15 states and inter-island passenger airline services for Hawaiian Airlines in Hawaii. Empire operates two other divisions: Empire Aerospace providing heavy maintenance and modifications to the industry and Empire Unmanned which provides unmanned aerial surveillance and analysis for agriculture and related industries.

USA: Empire Airlines Is A Passenger And Cargo Airline Based In Hayden

Empire Airlines is a passenger and cargo airline based in Hayden, Idaho, near Coeur d'Alene. It operates over 120 scheduled cargo flights a day in 18 US states and Canada. Recently Empire also started passenger service within Hawaii. Its main base is Coeur d'Alene Airport with a hub at Spokane International Airport.

Empire Airlines was established and started operations in May 1977 in Orofino as a charter company. Originally named Clearwater Flying Service (thus the CFS identifier for its flights), it was purchased by Nick Chenoweth and Vick Walters on April 12. Soon thereafter, a third partner, Mel Spelde joined as a flight instructor. Clearwater Flying Service made a living doing several different things including, fire patrol, transporting outfitters into the backcountry, air ambulance, air pollution monitoring, charters and flight instruction.

On November 1, 1980, Empire Airlines purchased West Aire, Inc. at Coeur d'Alene and expanded business to include aircraft sales and maintenance. In 1981 Empire purchased Executive Aviation in Missoula, Montana and leased Twin Otter aircraft for United States Forest Service smoke jumping contracts. In December 1983 and January 1984, Empire was awarded government contracts to transport people and materiel in Grenada, following the conflict. In the mid-1980s, Empire received contracts from several places including, a Colorado ski destination, Hughes Aircraft, and Naval Arctic Research Laboratory.

In 1988 Empire signed a FedEx Express contract to fly and maintain Cessna 208 Caravan aircraft out of Portland and Spokane; Seattle was added in September. In 1989 Empire became a FAR 121 operator after the purchase of Pacific Alaska and two Fairchild F-27 aircraft. In August Empire started F27 services for FedEx Express.

In 1990, Empire added more cargo routes and performed its first heavy maintenance check on a Fairchild F-27. In 1993, Empire became a sustaining member of CASE (Coordinating Agency for Supplier Evaluation). From October 1993 to May 1994, it operated Fokker F27-500 aircraft in Hawaii on behalf of Mahalo Air, while the latter airline was awaiting its own operating certificate.

In 1995, Empire moved corporate offices and ended passenger services, focusing on cargo, maintenance and airline startups. Empire began sending technical reps to Conair during heavy maintenance checks on Fokker F27s. In 1998, Empire started flying and maintaining Short 360 aircraft. Empire entered into a partnership agreement to begin Express Air serving FedEx in Europe.

In 2001, Empire received Repair Station certificate. In 2002, Empire purchased Reliant Logistics as a wholly owned subsidiary. In 2003, The first ATR 42 aircraft arrived in Spokane for cargo conversion. BOD accept Idaho's proposal for new hangar and office at the Coeur d'Alene Airport. In 2004, the first ATR 42 put on Empire's certificate made the first ATR FedEx Feeder revenue flight. Empire moved into new hangar and office building, in Hayden, Idaho.

In December 2012, it was announced that Empire would begin operating two ATR 42-500 series aircraft acquired by Hawaiian Airlines doing business as Empire Airlines on routes within the state of Hawaii. The name and branding Empire Airlines will be flying for Hawaiian under contract is "'Ohana by Hawaiian." 'Ohana by Hawaiian launched initial service to Molokai Airport (MKK) on March 11, 2014, and the Lana'i Airport on March 18, 2014. 'Ohana by Hawaiian currently operates daily scheduled flights between Honolulu (HNL), Molokai (MKK), Lanai (LNY), Kahului (OGG), Kona (KOA), and Hilo (ITO).

Empire operated scheduled passenger flights during the early 1990s in the Pacific Northwest with Fairchild F-27 and Fairchild Swearingen Metroliner turboprop aircraft. In 1993, the airline was serving Boise, ID (BOI), Coeur d'Alene, ID (COE), Lewiston, ID (LWS), Olympia, WA (OLM) and Spokane, WA (GEG). Empire previously served Seattle (SEA) as well.

As of January 2016, the Empire Airlines fleet includes the following aircraft:

Empire Air Fleet
Aircraft In service Orders Notes
ATR 42-300 2
ATR 42-300F 2
ATR 42-320 2
ATR 72-200F 2
Cessna 208B Super Cargomaster 33
Total 46


Empire Air has formerly operated the following aircraft:

- de Havilland Canada DHC-6 Twin Otter
- Fairchild F-27
- Fairchild Swearingen Metroliner
- Fokker F27 Friendship (series -500 and -600 aircraft operated for FedEx in cargo operations and series -500 aircraft for Mahalo Air in scheduled -passenger operations)
- Short 360

Incidents And Accidents
January 11, 1995: A Cessna 208 Caravan leased by FedEx Express and flying a cargo flight from Flagstaff to Phoenix Sky Harbor International Airport crashed about 1.3 miles SSE of Flagstaff Pulliam Airport. While returning to the airport, the "fuel selector off" warning horn was heard.

The pilot was killed. The cause of the crash was determined to be the pilot's failure to properly configure the fuel system prior to takeoff.
October 9, 2000: Flight 665, a Cessna 208 Caravan on a VFR cargo flight from Bellingham to Orcas Island crashed on Lummi Island. The pilot onboard was killed. The cause of the crash was determined to be the pilot flying into adverse weather and not maintaining proper terrain clearance.

On 27 January 2009, Flight 8284, an ATR-42-320 cargo plane under contract from FedEx Express crashed on landing at Lubbock Preston Smith International Airport at 04:37 CT. The plane, which had been traveling from Fort Worth Alliance Airport, landed short of the touchdown zone and skidded off the runway amid light freezing rain. There was a small fire on the plane and two crew members were taken to the hospital with minor injuries.

Wet Leasing, Damp Leasing Or Moist Leasing & Dry Leasing Of Aircrafts

Aircraft leases are leases used by airlines and other aircraft operators. Airlines lease aircraft from other airlines or leasing companies for two main reasons: to operate aircraft without the financial burden of buying them, and to provide temporary increase in capacity. The industry has two main leasing types: wet-leasing, which is normally used for short-term leasing, and dry-leasing which is more normal for longer-term leases. The industry also uses combinations of wet and dry. For example, when the aircraft is wet-leased to establish new services, then as the airline's flight or cabin crews become trained, they can be switched to a dry lease.

Wet Lease
A wet lease is a leasing arrangement whereby one airline (the lessor) provides an aircraft, complete crew, maintenance, and insurance (ACMI) to another airline or other type of business acting as a broker of air travel the lessee, which pays by hours operated. The lessee provides fuel and covers airport fees, and any other duties, taxes, etc. The flight uses the flight number of the lessee. A wet lease generally lasts 1–24 months; a shorter duration would be considered an ad hoc charter. A wet lease is typically utilized during peak traffic seasons or annual heavy maintenance checks, or to initiate new routes. A wet-leased aircraft may be used to fly services into countries where the lessee is banned from operating.

They can also be considered a form of charter whereby the lessor provides minimum operating services, including ACMI, and the lessee provides the balance of services along with flight numbers. In all other forms of charter, the lessor provides the flight numbers. Variations of a wet lease include a code share arrangement and a block seat agreement.

Wet leases are occasionally used for political reasons. For instance, EgyptAir, an Egyptian government enterprise, cannot fly to Israel under its own name, as a matter of Egyptian government policy. Therefore, Egyptian flights from Cairo to Tel Aviv are operated by Air Sinai, which wet-leases from EgyptAir to get around the political issue.

In the United Kingdom, a wet lease is when an aircraft is operated under the air operator's certificate (AOC) of the lessor.

Damp lease
An arrangement where the lessor provides the aircraft, flight crew and maintenance but the lessee provides the cabin crew is sometimes referred to as a "damp lease", a term especially used in the UK. It is also occasionally referred to as a "moist lease"

Dry lease
A dry lease is a leasing arrangement whereby an aircraft financing entity (lessor), such as GECAS or AerCap, provides an aircraft without crew, ground staff etc. Dry lease is typically used by leasing companies and banks, requiring the lessee to put the aircraft on its own AOC and provide aircraft registration. A typical dry lease lasts upwards of two years and bears certain conditions with respect to depreciation, maintenance, insurances, etc., depending also on the geographical location, political circumstances, etc.

A dry-lease arrangement can also be made between a major airline and a regional airline, in which the regional operator provides flight crews, maintenance and other operational aspects of the aircraft, which then may be operated under the major airline's name or some similar name. This saves the major airline the expense of training personnel to fly and maintain the aircraft, along with other considerations (such as staggered union contracts, regional airport staffing, etc.).

FedEx Express uses an arrangement of this type for its feeder operations, contracting to companies such as Empire Airlines, Mountain Air Cargo, Swiftair, and others to operate its single and twin-engined turbo-prop "feeder" aircraft. DHL has a joint venture in the United States with Polar Air Cargo, a subsidiary of Atlas Air, to operate their domestic deliveries.

In the United Kingdom, a dry lease is when an aircraft is operated under the AOC of the lessee.