HONOLULU -- A bankruptcy auction for Aloha Airlines' cargo operation has been delayed until next week.

The delay comes as several of the airlines' creditors objected to the auction and Aloha's remaining pilots are threatening to strike.

Two potential bidders already declined to take part in the auction, and sources said a third bidder walked out of the auction on Monday.

It is unclear how many companies are left that want to buy Aloha's cargo business. Aloha Cargo employs 300 people and handles about 85 percent of Hawaii's interisland air cargo.

It is unclear why the auction has been delayed.

One possible reason is that Aloha's primary lender, GMAC, raised the minimum price for the cargo division from $13 million to $20 million.

Another possible reason is that Aloha's pilot union is threatening a strike over seniority. The union has set a strike vote for Wednesday night.

The union expects to authorize its 40 remaining pilots at cargo to walk off the job as soon as Saturday. The union is upset that Aloha kept junior pilots flying and terminated senior pilots, contrary to the union's collective bargaining agreement.

Aloha said the pilot's charge is "without merit," noting that the airline began putting senior pilots who used to fly passenger jets through training last week to re-qualify them to fly cargo aircraft.

The owners of interisland shipper Young Brothers, which had been the first company to express an interest in buying Aloha's cargo business, walked out of the auction Monday, sources said. A company spokeswoman could not explain why they walked out and whether the company is still interested.