Kalitta Air

In 1967, Conrad "Connie" Kalitta started the airline as Connie Kalitta Services, a business carrying car parts using a twin engine Cessna 310 that he piloted. The airline's name would later become American International Airways in 1984. At this point, the fleet consisted of Boeing 747, Lockheed L-1011, Douglas DC-8, Twin Beech, and Learjet aircraft, for air freight, air ambulance, and charter passenger operations.

The American International Airways brand name was also used by a charter and scheduled passenger airline which in 1981 was operating a hub located at the Philadelphia International Airport with nonstop service to Atlantic City, Boston, Chicago Midway, Cleveland, Detroit, Fort Lauderdale, Miami, Norfolk, Orlando, Pittsburgh, Tampa, and West Palm Beach flown with McDonnell Douglas DC-9-30 and MD-80 jets. The airline declared bankruptcy on July 19, 1984, and ceased operations in September. Kalitta, however, continued using the AIA name, as "Kalitta|American International Airways" for cargo-only flights until 1997.

During the late 1980s, the Kalitta brand name continued to appear on many of the company's cargo aircraft. In 1990 and 1991, AIA flew 600 missions in support of Operations Desert Shield and Desert Storm.

In 1997, AIA merged with Kitty Hawk Inc., and Conrad Kalitta resigned to start Kalitta Leasing for buying, selling, and leasing large aircraft. In April 2000, Kitty Hawk International (the former AIA) ceased operations. Kalitta decided to rescue it, and the new airline, Kalitta Air, began operations in November 2000, using the operating certificate and assets of the former airline.

On the evening of September 11, 2001, Kalitta Air was one of the first cargo airline to fly across the United States to transport essential medical supplies, after the country's airspace was closed by the Federal Aviation Administration. Flying from Los Angeles to Philadelphia, the airline's Boeing 747-100F (N709CK) flew direct to Philadelphia.

A Kalitta Air loadmaster, Michael Manbeck, describes the route clearance as extraordinary. "That is unheard of," Michael says. "They will hand you off to the next sector, but never direct."

On April 21, 2017, Kalitta Air retired its final Boeing 747-200F from service. This was one of the relatively few then remaining in service. Twenty-six other Boeing 747 aircraft are still active in Kalitta's fleet.

Kalitta Maintenance operates a maintenance, repair, and overhaul facility at Oscoda–Wurtsmith Airport in Iosco County, Michigan.

In 2020, the United States Department of State employed Kalitta Air to evacuate U.S. nationals from Wuhan at the outbreak of the COVID-19 pandemic. Citing instructions from the State Department, director of operations Pete Sanderlin declined to give the Detroit Free Press comment. The National Museum of American Diplomacy's collection of artifacts includes a commemorative patch honoring the "Wuhan Evac Team" featuring a Kalitta Air plane. It has the dates "01-27-20 to 02-08-20" and four N-numbers, N705CK, N706CK, N708CK, and N713CK.

In 2026, Kalitta Air was again used to transport U.S. nationals back to the United States during the MV Hondius hantavirus outbreak. Passengers were transported aboard a 747-400 aircraft (N767CK) to Nebraska and Georgia for further quarantine and evaluation.