Alaska’s new airline brand Argentum Airways operated its first revenue flight on January 20, 2026, between Anchorage (ANC) and Kenai (ENA).
The new carrier is a brand of another Alaskan regional carrier, Aleutian Airways, which, in turn, is a joint venture between Alaska Seaplanes and Sterling Airways, a subsidiary of investment firm Wexford Capital.
While the Alaskan partner handles distribution, the flying is conducted by Sterling Airways, which is a Part 121 certified operator based in Jacksonville, Florida. All three airline brands, Aleutian Airways, Argentum Airways and Sterling Airways share the same Chief Executive Officer (CEO)Wayne Heller, who is also a Senior VP of Wexford Capital and has previously acted as Chief Operations Officer (COO) at Republic Airways.
This investment firm’s foray into the airline business began with its purchase of Florida-based ViaAir, a small regional operator, in 2020. The airline went out of business n 2019 and the carrier was subsequently rebranded as Sterling Airways.
The company entered the Alaska regional market in 2022 by the hand of Alaska Seaplanes with the launch of Aleutian Airways. This carrier focuses on providing connectivity throughout the Aleutian island chain, which stretches nearly 2,000km into the Pacific Ocean to the southwest of the Alaskan mainland. It operates a fleet of leased Saab 2000 turboprops.
While Aleutian Airways filled a gap left by the bankruptcy of local operator PenAir in 2020, Sterling Airways aims to target a broader market across the Arctic state with the launch of the new Argentum Airways brand.
Alaska is reliant on air travel to ensure the mobility of its residents across its vast mountainous terrain. However, Alaska’s largest regional airline, Ravn declared bankruptcy twice in the span of the last five years, opening opportunities for new operators.
Wexford Capital purchased some of the assets belonging to Silver Airways, a now defunct regional carrier based in Florida. Silver Airways ceased operations in the summer of 2025, but one of its ATR72-600 aircraft was secured by Wexford in order to launch its new Alaskan brand. The name of the new airline “Argentum”, which is Latin for “silver”, may be a reference to this link.
AeroTime has reached out to Aleutian Airways for additional comment on the airlines’ further plans.
