Island Air, which appeared to be turning things around with its recent expansion to Lihue and Kona, has reshuffled its management team for the second time in two months and now has its fifth CEO in six years.

In a surprise announcement Monday, the state’s second-largest carrier said it has parted ways with two of its top three executives, including President and CEO Les Murashige. He was replaced, effective immediately, in an “acting” capacity by David Uchiyama, chief commercial officer and chairman of the airline and a former Hawaii Tourism Authority official.

Rob Mauracher, who was CEO of Island Air from 2005 to 2007 and rejoined the airline in February as chief operating officer, also has departed the company.

“On behalf of Island Air, we appreciate the assistance that Les Murashige and Rob Mauracher provided during the ownership transition,” said venture capitalist Jeffrey Au, who heads the local investor groups that purchased the airline in February from billionaire Larry Ellison. “Over the past three months, David has been instrumental in expanding our strategic relationships with business and industry partners, in addition to overseeing key operational initiatives of the company.”

Island Air said the changes took effect Friday and that it wouldn’t comment beyond Au’s statement.

Au, Murashige and Uchiyama didn’t respond to emails or phone calls. No contact information was available for Mauracher.

Island Air has struggled to carve out its own niche in the market since May 2004 when San Francisco-based Gavarnie Holding LLC, headed by Charlie Willis, purchased the airline from Aloha Airgroup. The entry of the now-defunct go! airlines into the Hawaii market in June 2006 brought more competition, and even though Aloha Airlines (March 31, 2008) and go! (March 31, 2014) later ceased operations, Hawaiian Airlines has been making greater inroads into the market with a more than 90 percent market share.

With Island Air on the verge of shutting down, Ellison came in to buy the carrier in February 2013, less than a year after buying 98 percent of the island of Lanai. But Ellison gave up majority control of the carrier two months ago when he sold it to Au’s investment groups. Under Ellison the airline lost money for 10 straight quarters — totaling $45.9 million — through the third quarter of last year, according to the most recent available financial information from the U.S. Department of Transportation.

Murashige, who retired twice from the airline, said in February he had made a commitment to Au and the rest of the management team that he was “here for the long haul.” With Murashige at the helm, Island Air restarted Honolulu-Lihue service March 15 after a nine-month absence and announced plans to fly between Honolulu and Kona beginning June 14 for the first time since December 2012. The airline also ceased Maui-Lanai service March 31 as part of its plan to make better use of its five 64-seat ATR 72 turboprops.

Uchiyama was vice president of brand management for the Hawaii Tourism Authority before losing his job in a management shakeup when George Szigeti took over as president and CEO of the state agency last year. Uchiyama worked for a short time as vice president of sales and marketing for Hawaii Gas before taking the chief commercial officer position at Island Air. Uchiyama previously held positions early in his career at Continental Airlines and the short-lived interisland airline Mid Pacific Air.

Murashige, Uchiyama and Mauracher were part of the new management team that Au put together in February after the U.S. Department of Transportation approved the purchase of the airline. Murashige took over as CEO in place of Dave Pflieger, who left the company in February to work directly for Ellison in an unspecified position.