In this paper, a new phenomenological model of heat transfer in hard-disk air bearing based on the nonlocal behavior in air molecular gas is developed. The model predicts that the heat transfer process between a slider and disk surface occurs due to heat conduction and the viscous dissipation for Couette and Poiseuille flows. The assumption of the nonlocal behavior (in space) in air molecular gas, due to its scattering from the boundaries of the domain through which air flow is moved, allows us to eliminate deficiencies of the continuum model, in particular, the one based on the temperature jump theory. As a result, the proposed model is more accurate for simulating heat transfer in hard-disk air bearing. (C) 2013 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.