Eastern Air Express LLC

Eastern Air Express LLC, doing business as Hillwood Airways LLC, is a self-certified small disadvantaged business based in Kansas City, Missouri, that provides Federal Aviation Regulations Part 121 certified charter air transportation services exclusively to the U.S. Air Force Air Mobility Command as a prime contractor (100% of awards). The vendor operates under full-and-open competition with no set-asides across its federal footprint.

The vendor's capability portfolio centers on domestic and international charter passenger and cargo airlift services transporting military personnel, light cargo, and equipment between military installations and civilian airports. Representative work includes delivery orders spanning May 2022 through July 2026 under multiple indefinite delivery contracts with Air Mobility Command: a $1.26 million purchase order from the Department of the Interior for wildland fire service aviation operations between the continental United States and Alaska (awarded July 7, 2026, performance in Boise, Idaho); a $114,000 domestic charter delivery order from Air Mobility Command for movement of military personnel and light cargo (April 24, 2026, New Orleans); and a $349,000 delivery order for scheduled passenger and cargo air transportation within Hawaii in support of Air Mobility Command's Pacific operations (October 28, 2023). The vendor holds four primary indefinite delivery contract vehicles with Air Mobility Command: a $699.994 million IDIQ for domestic Federal Aviation Regulation Part 121 chartered passenger and cargo airlift services (original award September 15, 2022, ultimate completion March 31, 2024); a $6.0165 million IDIQ for Civil Reserve Air Fleet domestic charter airlift services (awarded April 1, 2024, through September 30, 2028); an $18,000 IDIQ for international charter airlift services supporting the Civil Reserve Air Fleet program (awarded October 1, 2024, through September 30, 2030); and a $9,000 Civil Reserve Air Fleet IDIQ (awarded March 14, 2022, through September 30, 2024).

Customer concentration is absolute: Air Mobility Command accounts for 128 awards worth $717.9 million combined potential value (99.8% of all awards by count and value), with the Department of the Interior contributing one award of $1.3 million. The single Interior award is a wildland fire support contract expiring September 30, 2026. Air Mobility Command's ordering volume has accelerated in recent years—16 awards in 2022, 32 in 2023, 20 in 2024, and 51 in 2025—reflecting consistent reliance on the vendor for rapid-response air charter capacity. Individual task orders typically range from $3,000 to over $300,000, with a median around $75,000 to $150,000. The vendor has received more than 150 delivery orders under its Air Mobility Command IDIQ vehicles since the original award in September 2022.

The top three parent vehicles account for 122 task orders: the $6.0165 million Civil Reserve Air Fleet IDIQ (HTC71124DCC13) generated 76 task orders worth $7.5 million; the primary $699.994 million domestic chartered passenger and cargo IDIQ (HTC71122DCC03) generated 41 task orders worth $4 million; and a third IDIQ (HTC71122DCC01) generated 5 task orders worth $378 thousand. Only one award faces completion inside the next twenty-four months: the Department of the Interior wildland fire contract expiring September 30, 2026, valued at $1.3 million. The vendor's primary Air Mobility Command IDIQs face an ultimate completion date of March 31, 2024, which has passed; if those vehicles are recompeted or renewed, recompete activity may follow. The source indicates that the original primary IDIQ ceiling of $699.994 million has been substantially consumed through repeated delivery order issuance, but renewal status is not specified in the award data.

The vendor operates no subcontractor footprint in the federal space covered by the source. All 129 awards reflect prime contractor status. Work is performed at multiple locations across the continental United States, Alaska, and select international destinations (Canada, Mexico, Puerto Rico, Jamaica, U.S. Virgin Islands) as dictated by Air Mobility Command tasking, with administrative oversight tied to the vendor's headquarters in Kansas City, Missouri and operational bases such as Weatherby Lake, Missouri. The vendor competes across full-and-open delivery order competitions under these IDIQ vehicles; no set-asides are applied to any of its federal awards.