Pacific Air Cargo, a Los Angeles company that operates five Boeing 747 cargo flights a week between Honolulu and California, said yesterday it is interested in possibly filling the void left by the closure of Aloha Airlines' cargo division.

Starting a new interisland air cargo company will be difficult given the high price of jet fuel and razor-thin profits in the cargo business, analysts say.

Aloha abruptly closed its cargo unit on Monday, laying off 300 workers and cutting a vital transportation link for hundreds of businesses.

Tanja Janfruechte, spokeswoman for Los Angeles-based Pacific Air, confirmed the company's interest in the interisland cargo business but declined further comment about the company's plans.

It was unclear yesterday whether Pacific Air was interested in buying Aloha's cargo unit or building its own service.

The eight-year-old company previously shipped goods to the Neighbor Islands on Aloha's planes but does not have its own interisland cargo operations.

Pacific Air agreed last week to pay $2.05 million for Aloha's contract services division, which employs about 1,100 workers who handle ticketing, baggage services, ramp duties and other ground services for airlines that serve Hawai'i.

The contract services division continues to operate despite a court-order allowing Aloha to wind down its operations and sell off its assets.

Aloha flew more than 100 million pounds of cargo each year, or about 85 percent of goods flown between O'ahu and the Neighbor Islands.