Eastern Air Express LLC

Eastern Air Express LLC, doing business as Hillwood Airways LLC, operates as a self-certified small disadvantaged business providing Federal Aviation Regulations Part 121 certified domestic and international charter air transportation services exclusively to the federal government as a prime contractor. The company is headquartered in Kansas City, Missouri (with operations at Weatherby Lake, Missouri) and competes under full-and-open competition with no set-aside designations across all federal work.

Eastern Air Express holds four primary indefinite delivery contract vehicles with the U.S. Air Force Air Mobility Command. The dominant vehicle is a $699,994,000 IDIQ for domestic Federal Aviation Regulation Part 121 chartered passenger and cargo airlift services (original award September 15, 2022, extended through March 31, 2024) that has generated 41 task orders worth $4 million in combined potential value. The vendor also operates a $6,016,500 Civil Reserve Air Fleet domestic charter IDIQ (through September 30, 2028) carrying 116 delivery orders valued at $11.8 million combined, an $18,000 international charter airlift IDIQ (through September 30, 2030), and a prior $9,000 CRAF vehicle. These vehicles enable rapid delivery-order issuance for military personnel, light cargo, and equipment movement across the continental United States, Alaska, and select international destinations. Representative work includes a $115,000 domestic charter delivery order for Air Mobility Command (August 2, 2026), a $137,000 domestic charter order (July 19, 2026), and a $2,993,827 commercial aviation purchase order from the Department of Interior for wildland fire service operations (July 7, 2026). Most significantly, Immigration and Customs Enforcement awarded a $379,979,044 definitive firm-fixed-price contract on August 12, 2026, for government-furnished aircraft operational support and maintenance services through February 11, 2028—representing the vendor's expansion into a civilian customer outside its Air Mobility Command relationship.

Customer concentration is extreme: Air Mobility Command accounts for 168 awards (99.8% of the vendor's federal footprint by value) worth $722.3 million combined potential value, with a single ICE award of $380 million and one Department of Interior order of $3 million making up the remaining awards. Activity has grown substantially year over year, from 16 awards in 2022 to 51 awards each in 2025 and 2026, totaling 170 awards and $1.11 billion in combined potential value. The vendor faces a significant recompete cliff: the $380 million ICE contract reaches ultimate completion February 11, 2028, and represents the combined potential value of all awards completing in the next twenty-four months.

Eastern Air Express operates exclusively as a prime contractor with zero subcontractor footprint across federal work—all federal contract awards are 100% prime (170 awards). The vendor competes on full-and-open bases with no set-asides. Performance spans multiple locations across the continental United States, Alaska, and select international destinations, with administrative oversight at the Kansas City headquarters. The vendor's narrow capability focus—specialized aviation charter services under Part 121 certification—and extreme customer concentration with Air Mobility Command (which generates approximately 99.8% of prior federal value) create a highly specialized market position anchored in military air mobility operations. The August 2026 ICE award signals early-stage diversification into civilian government customer segments, though Air Mobility Command remains the overwhelming driver of current revenue and delivery volume.