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.
