The timing of the temporary Aloha cargo shutdown couldn’t have been worse for Paradise Flower Farms of Kula, which scheduled major shipments of fresh lei and lei flowers to florists, wholesalers and lei stands across the state for May Day celebrations. “The temporary shutdown of Aloha forced everybody to look at the alternatives. And they are less expensive. So maybe, it actually helped. We’re probably going to save some money on our freight bill,” said Paradise Flower Farms owner, Tina Rasmussen.

Rasmussen runs the 30-year-old business with her husband, Craig, and sends out 30,000–40,000 tuberoses, orchids, carnations and other flowers per week. Paradise Flower Farms was spending $3,000–$4,000 a month on Aloha cargo flights. The service, which shut down on Monday, April 28, resumed with three Boeing 737-200 jets taking off from Honolulu Airport after 8 p.m., on Thursday, May 1. A court-appointed trustee agreed to take over the operations of the local carrier until Aloha Cargo’s sale to the Seattle-based owner of Young Brothers/Hawaiian Tug & Barge can be completed. The move will preserve hundreds of jobs and bring much needed relief to businesses that were sent scrambling for alternative ways to ship goods.