BUSINESS BRIEFS
Hawaiian Air No. 1 for on-time
Advertiser Staff
Hawai'i's largest locally based airlines continued to score well in terms of on-time arrivals, ranking No. 1 and No. 2 in October.
The monthly survey of airline service by the U.S. Department of Transportation listed Hawaiian Airlines as having a 94.6 percent on-time arrival rate. Aloha Airlines was second at 91.5 percent. The national average was 78.2 percent.
Hawaiian also did well in terms of lowest rates of canceled flights. It was No. 2 in the nation in October with a 0.2 percent rate.
HAWAIIAN TEL DIRECTORIES SOLD
Local Insight Media L.P., an Englewood, Colo.-based company, said it's completed the acquisition of Hawaiian Telcom Inc.'s telephone directories business. Local Insight agreed to purchase the publications in May for $435 million.
The transaction also included an agreement allowing Local Insight to continue publishing the white and yellow pages under the Hawaiian Telcom name for 50 years. It also will maintain the online directories for Hawaiian Telcom.
Hawaiian Telcom printed more than 1.8 million directories in 10 editions for O'ahu, Maui, the Big Island and Kaua'i in 2007. The largest local telephone company has said selling the directories allows it to focus on its telecommunications services and products, and that it would be using proceeds to help pay down debt and fund new services statewide.
STATE FARM WORKFORCE FALLS BY 9%
The state's agricultural workforce in October dipped 9 percent from a year earlier, but wages were up 6 percent to a record $13.19 an hour, according to a report by the U.S. Department of Agriculture.
A department survey conducted Oct. 7-13 found that there were 6,400 farm jobs, down from 7,000 jobs in the same period in 2006. Diversified agricultural jobs accounted for 82 percent of all farm labor at 5,250, a drop of 3 percent from last year.
The continued decline of pineapple and sugar cane was reflected in the 28 percent drop in the number of workers to 1,150 in October 2007. The total does not include mill or cannery workers, the report said.
The average wage paid to agricultural workers during the survey period was a record $13.19 per hour, 72 cents higher than the same period last year, according to the report. The combined average wage for field and livestock workers also reached a record at $11.13, up 44 cents from last year.
Hawai'i farms employing from one to nine workers paid an average $11.39, while the average wage for field and livestock workers was $10.49.
OCEAN TOWER HOTEL CHANGES NAME
A Waikiki hotel emerged over the weekend with a new name and a new look: Hotel Renew.
Ocean Tower Hotel, at 129 Paoakalani Ave., officially changed its name to Hotel Renew as of Saturday, according to Elizabeth Churchill, vice president of sales and marketing for Aqua Hotels and Resorts.
The property will become the first hotel in Aqua's new Elite brand and O'ahu's "first true designer boutique hotel, offering the utmost in personalized service and innovative business and entertainment technology," she said.
The hotel's interior is being designed by acclaimed designer Jiun Ho, who is "creating a casually elegant oasis of tranquility — a subtle and calming contrast to the vibrant energy of Waikiki," Churchill said.
