Island Air’s new ownership group is making good on its promise to grow the state’s second-largest carrier.

The once-struggling airline, which has been undergoing a resurgence since being purchased in February by two local investor groups headed by venture capitalist Jeffrey Au, said Thursday it plans to restart service between Honolulu and Kona on June 14 with five daily round-trip flights.

The new service is expected to create approximately 25 airport-related jobs in West Hawaii, including positions for customer service agents, ramp agents and station managers.

Island Air said it will offer an introductory fare sale for its new Honolulu-Kona service through Wednesday. The special fare for a one-way flight will start from $69 for travel between June 14 and Sept. 30. Island Air is redeploying some of the aircraft it was using for its Honolulu-Maui service, which was expanded April 1.

Hawaiian Airlines, the state’s largest carrier, listed $95 as its lowest one-way fare on June 14 before the announcement but later in the day lowered it to $69 to match Island Air. Hawaiian is the only other local carrier with nonstop service between Honolulu and Kona.

It’s the third major move by Island Air’s new owners since announcing in January they were acquiring a majority stake in the airline from billionaire Larry Ellison. The deal was approved by the U.S. Department of Transportation in February.

Island Air restarted service to Kauai on March 15 after a nine-month absence and added 19 positions on Kauai and eight on Oahu. Then the airline ceased service March 31 between Kahului and Lanai, which is 98 percent owned by Ellison and had seen a drop in tourism due to renovation at the island’s two major resorts. Now it is heading back to Hawaii island, marking the first time Island Air has served Kona since December 2012.

Hawaii island Mayor Billy Kenoi said he welcomed additional service to Kona.

“In a state of islands, air travel is not a nicety — it is a necessity to our economy and to our people,” he said in a statement. “Because of this, our administration has long been advocating for increased airlift to Hawaii island. We welcome Island Air’s return to Kona, offering another option for our local families and our visitors.”

Exactly a year ago Island Air’s future looked bleak. It announced in April 2015 that it was cutting 20 percent of its workforce, reducing service and indefinitely postponing a decision to bring in a new fleet. Island Air was reduced to only two routes: Honolulu-Maui and Maui-Lanai.

But the airline, which has been focusing on improving its on-time performance, appears to be turning things around operationally, if not financially. Island Air, as a private company, doesn’t publicly release its financial performance, but is required to file that data quarterly with the U.S. DOT. The federal agency will release Island Air’s fourth-quarter results next month and then report the airline’s first-quarter data in June.

“Both the community and our travel industry partners have reached out to us asking for more support for the West Hawaii community,” Island Air President and CEO Les Murashige said in a statement. “As we continue to improve our operations and expand our presence in the community, Island Air is proud to once again serve Hawaii island and provide service to support Hawaii’s families, local businesses and our visitors so that all may enjoy our island way.”

The company’s expansion also has resulted in more employees. The additional employees created by the expansion to Kauai and Hawaii island will bring the company’s total workforce to 292.

The five daily flights to Kona aboard Island Air’s 64-seat ATR 72 turboprops will provide an additional 2,240 seats a week to Hawaii island. Hawaiian offers 19 to 20 nonstop daily flights, depending on the day, on its Boeing 717 jets, which seat up to 128 passengers.

That would represent up to 17,920 seats a week to Kona from Honolulu.

Hawaiian also offers an additional seven to eight flights a day between Honolulu and Kona with a layover in Kahului. The second leg of those trips is operated by the company’s turboprop operator, ‘Ohana by Hawaiian, which carries 48 seats on its ATR 42 aircraft. That would represent up to 2,688 seats a week.

Mokulele Airlines, the state’s third-largest carrier, offers service between Honolulu, or Kalaeloa Airport in Leeward Oahu, to Kona with stops in either Hoolehua on Molokai or Kapalua or Kahului on Maui.

The Honolulu Airport one-way fares start at $127, and the Kalaeloa Airport one-way fares start at $121.40. Mokulele’s Cessna Grand Caravans seat nine passengers.