Alaska’s largest private airline, Era Alaska’s owner, Jim Tweto is worth $20 Million. A career across almost 3 decades, Tweto’s hard work helped has him earn millions. Era Alaska is a family business and it comprises of 3 airlines merged together – Frontier Flying Service, Era Alaska and Hageland Aviation.
Tweto was born in Kansas, Wichita. His parents relocated to Minnesota, Silver Bay, just after Jim was born in 1954. Like other boys in Minnesota, Tweto was interested in hockey and he displayed promise in the sport too. He won a scholarship to University of Alaska, Anchorage, when he was 18 for his skills as a hockey player. He started juggling flying lessons with his hockey practice as well as academic courses here.
In the early 80s, he earned his license as a commercial pilot. Despite being a gifted hockey player, he understood that his career in the field had a limited life span. He went to the Unalakleet village and started to build fishing boats. He called his enterprise, Gussik Ventures. It was named after the word Eskimos use for the white people. In 1984, he started flying planes for Ferno’s father, with whom he started a relationship and subsequently got married to. In 1990, Jim collaborated with Mike Hageland for creating the Hageland Aviation. They got associated with Era Alaska in 2008 to form the biggest regional aviation company. He has been a successful pilot himself and his wife has supported him through thick and thin. Together, they made Jim’s business a successful venture which raked in millions.
Jim Tweto continues to live with his wife Ferno and has two daughters, Ayla and Ariel. In his entire flying career, he has had only one accident in 2007 which broke his neck. However, as soon as he recovered, he returned to the work, flying planes in Alaska’s harsh climate.