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A Turbulent Origin Story

FLOAT was founded in 2019 with a futuristic pitch: commuter flights in Southern California that would let customers “Fly Over All Traffic,” shrinking three-hour drives into 15-minute hops. Operations began in February 2020 — and stalled just two weeks later when COVID-19 lockdowns wiped out demand almost overnight.

As the pandemic spread, FLOAT’s founders turned their attention north, eyeing Ravn’s essential Alaskan routes that ferry cargo, mail, medicine and passengers to remote communities. FLOAT acquired Ravn’s Corvus Airlines business and its FAA certificates in August 2020, rehiring about 350 former Ravn employees within three months and restoring critical air service in time to deliver the first COVID-19 vaccines to isolated regions.

Big Bets on Jets and Blockchain

The company then sought to build a larger footprint in Anchorage, planning a transpacific passenger operation under the New Pacific Airlines brand using newly acquired 757 aircraft. Alongside that effort, FLOAT backed FlyCoin, a blockchain-based loyalty program that rewarded customers with cryptocurrency tokens they owned directly. FlyCoin raised $28 million, which was loaned to New Pacific to accelerate its transpacific ambitions.

Those plans unraveled in 2022, when Russia’s invasion of Ukraine closed Russian airspace, cutting off key routes needed for Asian expansion. At the same time, violent swings in the crypto market chilled interest in FlyCoin as partners retreated amid negative sentiment toward digital assets.

Staffing Losses and Scrapped Routes

As travel rebounded, competition in Alaska intensified. Rival airlines lured away FLOAT pilots and staff with higher pay and signing bonuses, Hsieh said, leaving the company with an 80% loss of pilot positions by 2023. The staffing crisis forced repeated reductions in service.

Attempts to redeploy the 757 fleet on routes from Southern California to Las Vegas, Reno and Nashville failed to turn a profit and were abandoned. New Pacific ceased flying in 2024, and Alaskan operations were further pared back.

FLOAT later pursued charter contracts with several NHL teams starting in August 2024, hoping for a turnaround. Instead, those flights lost money, and asset sales in Alaska could not cover the losses. When a charter partner missed a $315,000 payment in November 2025, FLOAT could not make payroll.

With no runway left, the company laid off 115 employees and halted all flight operations. The Chapter 11 filing followed negotiations among FLOAT, the Jones entities and NFS Capital.