Hawaiian Airlines and JetBlue said Tuesday they have expanded their existing partnership through a bilateral code-share agreement.
JetBlue is placing its code on nonstop flights operated by Hawaiian between John F. Kennedy International Airport in New York and Honolulu Airport as well as selected connecting flights from JetBlue’s East Coast network to Honolulu via Los Angeles, San Francisco and Las Vegas, and onward to the neighbor island destinations of Kahului, Kona and Lihue.
Hawaiian’s code, which has been on select JetBlue flights since 2012, is expanding to additional destinations in JetBlue’s network.
Customers purchasing a code-share itinerary will benefit from having a single ticket that includes both Hawaiian- and JetBlue-operated flights as well as day-of-travel conveniences such as one-stop check-ins and baggage transfers.
J&J to cut 3,000 jobs in medical devices
Johnson & Johnson said Tuesday that it plans to cut about 3,000 jobs over the next two years as the health care conglomerate works to restructure its medical devices business.
The company said that amounts to more than 2 percent of its global workforce of about 127,000 people.
The cuts come after a tough year for the health care bellwether, which has seen sales of its prescription drugs, devices and consumer medicines squeezed by a weakening global economy and unfavorable currency exchange rates.
BofA struggles with growth as net rises
NEW YORK >> Bank of America reported higher profits on better performance in consumer banking and lower costs, but the bank acknowledged that it is struggling to increase revenue despite an improving U.S. economy.
BofA earned a profit of $3.01 billion, or 28 cents a share, after payment of dividends to preferred shareholders. That’s an improvement of nearly 10 percent over the same period last year and beat market expectations.
CEO Brian Moynihan said that results for the year, which were the highest earnings in a decade for the bank, were the result of “doing more business with each customer and client.”
Obama seeks Pell Grant expansion
WASHINGTON >> The Obama administration wants to expand the federal Pell Grant program to help more students graduate from college — by providing them with money to attend classes year-round and reward them for taking more credits.
Two new proposals, announced Tuesday by the Education Department, would expand the $29 billion program by $2 billion in the new fiscal year. They’ll be part of President Barack Obama’s budget proposal next month.
One proposal, called the Pell for Accelerated Completion, would help low-income students earn Pell money for a third semester in an academic year — letting them take classes over the summer. Many full-time students exhaust their annual eligibility after two semesters. The other, the On-Track Pell Bonus, would give a $300 reward to students taking at least 15 credits per semester in an academic year.
Pell Grants are for students in financial need. The money does not have to be repaid.
The government awarded $28.7 billion in Pell Grants to almost 8.3 million students in the 2015 fiscal year. The average Pell Grant was about $3,600. The maximum Pell award for the 2015-2016 school year is $5,775.
The expansion would need congressional approval.
On the Move
Outrigger Hotels and Resorts has announced two management appointments:
Pam Cabrera is director of military affairs and is responsible for securing military business for Outrigger Hotels and Resorts and its brands, including sales and revenue strategies for the military market. Cabrera also is the liaison between Outrigger and the military for social and community engagement. Cabrera most recently was director of sales and marketing for Hawaii Vacation Condos by Outrigger.
Beverly Fidel is director of sales and marketing for the OHANA Waikiki East and OHANA Waikiki Malia hotels. She is accountable for generating demand for Outrigger’s two OHANA properties. Fidel switched from her role as director of revenue management for the Outrigger Waikiki Beach Resort.
