Island Air widens college fare program

Island Air has expanded its $45-one-way-fare College Student Standby Program to include those students enrolled at Hawaii Pacific University, Chaminade University and Brigham Young University-Hawaii. Launched as a pilot program in October, it previously applied to students enrolled at University of Hawaii schools and community colleges on Oahu and Maui.

As Island Air added routes to Lihue and Kona, the standby program was expanded to include all universities and community colleges in the UH system. The standby program now also applies to students at HPU, Chaminade and BYUH.

To qualify for the College Student Standby rate, students must present a valid UH, HPU, Chaminade or BYUH student identification to a customer service agent at any Island Air ticket counter. There is no maximum number of times a student may participate in the offer.

The $45 is a standby rate, subject to seat availability, and can be changed without notice. Fare includes one federal transportation segment tax and one security fee. Other taxes, fees and restrictions might apply.

Hawaiki picks DRFortress for cable station

Hawaiki Submarine Cable LP, the New Zealand owner and developer of the Hawaiki submarine cable system, has selected DRFortress to be the landing party for its new undersea fiber-optic cable system. Hawaiki will connect Australia and New Zealand to Hawaii, and Hawaii to Oregon.

“In 2015, we made the decision to invest substantially in Oahu and purchased land in Kapolei to build our cable landing station, which will be the first open-access station in Hawaii,” Gina Bohreer, senior vice president North America of Hawaiki, said in a statement. “The next step was to select the right partner, sharing the same carrier-neutral philosophy, to help us build and operate the station.”

Bohreer said the Hawaiki cable will be in service by mid-2018.

Kobe Bryant starts $100M investment fund

NEW YORK >> Retired NBA star Kobe Bryant is moving to Wall Street, announcing the formation of a $100 million venture capital fund to invest in media, technology and data companies.

The fund, known as Bryant Stibel, is being co-managed by investor Jeff Stibel. The two met through mutual friends, Stibel said.

Bryant Stibel already has made investments in 15 companies, including LegalZoom and home juicing company Juicero, according to their website. The firm was founded in 2013 but is going public now with the retirement of Bryant from the Lakers.

Stibel said the firm is focused on companies at all stages of growth.

“We are actively looking for great entrepreneurs, but we are in no hurry to deploy capital,” he said.

Bryant earned roughly $680 million in salary and endorsements during his 18-year NBA career, according to Forbes, and has been in the process of transition from professional athlete to businessman. Bryant created a company in 2014 called Kobe Inc. to help handle his image.

Delta offers pilots 27% raise as talks linger

Delta Air Lines Inc. offered its 13,000 pilots a raise of about 27 percent over four years, significantly less than what the employees have proposed in contract talks that have lingered since the beginning of the year.

The carrier’s proposal was disclosed in a letter Sunday to pilots from John Malone, chairman of the Delta chapter of the Air Line Pilots Association, which is asking for a 37 percent raise over three years. The two sides have been deadlocked over pay and other issues since the contract became amendable Dec. 31.

The union has taken an aggressive stance in negotiations with the Atlanta-based airline, saying that the carrier’s profits justify the reversal of pay and benefits cuts adopted in the early 2000s. The pilots had voted down an agreement in July 2015 that would have provided an immediate 8 percent raise and smaller boosts in future years.

“Delta is committed to reaching a timely new agreement that is market-based, sustainable, and that also ensures Delta pilots have an industry-leading package of pay, benefits and work rules,” Morgan Durrant, a spokesman for the airline, said in an email.

On the Move

Castle Resorts & Hotels has named Diane White a reservation sales center manager. Her responsibilities are to train, lead and direct all agents as well as generate revenue for the hotel and resort management company’s 23 properties in New Zealand and Hawaii. White has more than 20 years of experience in the hospitality industry, including recently having served as a guest services manager at the Maile Sky Court.

RCWB LLC, sales and marketing agent of the Ritz-Carlton Residences, Waikiki Beach, has announced that Dean Anderson has been appointed director of resort sales and marketing for the Ritz-Carlton Residences, Waikiki Beach. His responsibilities are to oversee and lead all strategic global sales and marketing initiatives for Waikiki’s newest resort and the first Ritz-Carlton Residences on Oahu, which opened July 15. Anderson has 20 years of sales, marketing, revenue management and e-commerce experience in Hawaii, including previously having served as corporate vice president of sales and marketing at Castle Resorts & Hotels.