Some business offices are decorated with table fountains and tchotchkes from Pier 1. Richard Schuman’s office is full of historical artifacts from his family’s business.

There’s a worn flag, which looks hand-sewn, that flew over Schuman Carriage during World War I. It says “OUR BOYS” and bears a star for every employee who was serving in America’s armed forces — 36 in all.

There’s a framed Certificate of Merchandise License, dated 1923.

There is a photo of the warehouse that used to be on the corner of Cooke and Ilaniwai streets in Kakaako more than 100 years ago. A fleet of brand-new Model T’s is lined up in the picture.

Alongside all the old treasures are more recent mementos — photos with the stars of “Hawaii Five-0,” company T-shirts, a collection of toy helicopters.

After Schuman Carriage stopped selling cars and the landmark site on Beretania Street became a Safeway, some may have thought that was the end of four generations of the family business. But Richard Schuman, 56, the great-grandson of the company founder, is still president of Schuman Carriage Co., which is an investment company rather than an operating company, and is owner of Schuman Aviation, which does business as Makani Kai.

“I have the benefit of stories of how my great-grandfather to my father did business,” Schuman says. “Just do a good job the old-fashioned way. People will come.”

In 1893, harness maker Gustav Schuman arrived in Hawaii from Germany. He made a line of carriages and later became Hawaii’s first auto dealer. The family grew the business into auto parts and other interests. By the 2000s, Richard Schuman’s father, Gustav “Dutch” Schuman, was downsizing the car business. Dutch died in 2005 and the car dealership closed a year later. Richard Schuman, who had worked at Schuman Carriage off and on through his career, founded Schuman Aviation in 1996.

Makani Kai Helicopters’ passengers are almost all tourists. The passengers on the airplane flights to Molokai are almost all Molokai residents. Some have jobs on Oahu and fly between the islands every week or every day. Some come just to shop at Costco. There are children from Molokai who attend school on Oahu. Schuman and his team get to know everyone’s story.

“You remember when you could go right up to the chain-link fence at the airport and wait while the plane landed? You could meet your relatives as they came off the plane, greet them with leis. If you were putting grandma on the plane, you could walk her to the plane. We can do that. We re-create that.”

There are stories about times passengers are stuck in traffic in Waikiki and won’t make it for the flight to Molokai, so they call Makani Kai and ask if they can still go home. No problem. Makani Kai will hold the plane for them.

There was a time a man showed up at Makani Kai’s Lagoon Drive terminal wearing nothing but his BVDs and a towel. He had gotten into an argument with his girlfriend and she locked him out of the house. All he wanted was to go home to Molokai. Makani Kai gave him a company T-shirt (“We couldn’t find pants big enough,” Schuman says) and off he went.

As he sits in his office near a window with a view of milky blue Keehi Lagoon, Schuman’s stories are often paused to answer a question from one of his employees. The phone on his desk beeps, and then a voice goes, “Hey, boss!” Schuman is consulted on everything, and no one seems to hesitate to ask. He likes challenges, likes working with his team.

Schuman’s grandmother, Zena Mossman Schuman, was one of the founders of Waldorf School in Niu Valley, and Schuman loves the school’s philosophy.

“The school teaches kids to think. To be calm, relaxed, don’t panic, think of as many creative ways to approach a situation,” he says. “Too many people are conditioned to put limitations on themselves. … Every time you find an obstacle, there has to be a way around it.”

Before I can ask about it, Schuman brings up the December 2013 crash of one of his aircraft off the coast of Kalaupapa. The single-engine Cessna was carrying nine passengers when it suffered catastrophic engine failure and went down in the ocean. State Health Director Loretta Fuddy lost her life in the accident. Fuddy’s family is suing the maker of the aircraft engine.

“I served in the National Guard and I learned under Charles Anthony how to handle communication in a tragedy like that — not to avoid the media, to answer their questions and be truthful,” he says. “We didn’t make the engine and it gave way at the wrong time, but it happened with my company and that was a sad time.”

Just four months after the accident, the contract for air service to Kalaupapa was up for bid again, and Makani Kai had to compete with other carriers to keep the route. Residents of the settlement put it to a vote. Some 77 out of 78 residents voted to support Makani Kai. Gloria Marks told her neighbors at the meeting, “Richard Schuman always tells me, ‘If anything goes wrong in Kalaupapa, you call me and I will come there myself and pick up the people.’” That old-fashioned way of doing business won out.

And then there’s the fun stuff on the side. Schuman flies stunts on “Hawaii Five-0.” He says he has a big scene in the season finale. He has simulated crashes, flown the crew around, even dressed as a woman to be a stunt double for a guest star.

Makani Kai has 55 employees, four helicopters and four airplanes. Schuman is building a new terminal a block away from his current headquarters on Lagoon Drive. That way, his Molokai passengers can be more comfortable.

“I have no desire to be huge. I’m happy where we are. I’m with my people every day. I’m with my customers. We will get a little larger, but that’s because of the customers’ needs,” he says. “I’m like that nice restaurant that needs to add some more tables.”