Honolulu Symphony, union settle

The Honolulu Symphony orchestra, which filed for Chapter 11 reorganization in December, negotiated a settlement of an unfair labor practices complaint with the union representing musicians. The symphony said in a filing with the U.S. Bankruptcy Court that it was "highly unlikely" there could have been a reorganization plan without a settlement with the union.

Assuming the symphony’s board and the union formally agree, the musicians will waive claims for back pay and severance. Absent the waiver, the claims would have been administrative expenses and require full payment.

The symphony said the settlement was "brokered" by the National Labor Relations Board.

The symphony said it cannot file a Chapter 11 plan until the settlement is formally approved. The symphony therefore filed a motion to extend the exclusive right to propose a plan. A hearing on the exclusivity motion will be held Dec. 18.

The symphony said bankruptcy resulted from a decline in donations.

Hawaiian Air adds seasonal flights

Hawaiian Airlines has added seasonal service to its regular schedule of flights between Maui and Oakland, Calif.; Honolulu and Los Angeles; and Honolulu and Pago Pago, American Samoa.

Starting Dec. 13, Hawaiian will depart Maui at 12:35 p.m. and arrive in Oakland at 7:35 p.m. The return flight will depart Oakland daily at 7:40 a.m. and arrive on Maui at 11:05 a.m., with service concluding Jan. 10.

Hawaiian’s additional flight to Los Angeles will leave Honolulu at 10:10 p.m. and arrive in L.A. the next morning at 5:35 a.m. on Dec. 15-22, Dec. 25-29, and Jan. 1-5. The return flight will depart L.A. at 10:30 a.m. and arrive in Honolulu at 2:20 p.m. on Dec. 16-23, Dec. 26-30, and Jan. 2-6.

For Pago Pago, Hawaiian will depart Honolulu each Tuesday on Dec. 14, 21 and 28, and Jan. 4 at 5 p.m. and arrive in Pago Pago at 9:40 p.m. The return flight will depart Pago Pago at 11:20 p.m. and arrive in Honolulu the next morning at 5:40 a.m.

Hawaiian also said that its twice-weekly flight schedule between Honolulu and Pago Pago next year will be offered on Mondays and Thursdays, effective Jan. 17, instead of Sundays and Thursday like they are now. Those flights will depart Honolulu at 5 p.m. and arrive in Pago Pago at 9:40 p.m.

The return flight will depart Pago Pago at 11:20 p.m. those same days and arrive in Honolulu the following morning at 5:40 a.m.

Delta flight attendants reject union

MINNEAPOLIS » The nation’s biggest flight attendant union lost its all-or-none fight to cover those workers at Delta Air Lines yesterday, a stunning defeat in an industry where heavy union representation is the norm.

The Association of Flight Attendants-CWA immediately said it would ask federal regulators to investigate possible interference from the company, and would seek a re-vote. Votes to join a union fell just 328 short out of 18,760 cast, the union said. That worked out to union support from 49 percent of Delta’s 20,000 flight attendants.

Delta’s flight attendants include roughly 7,000 who came from Northwest Airlines when Delta bought it in 2008. The Northwest flight attendants were in the AFA, but their Delta colleagues were not.

The vote was to resolve whether the union would cover all of them, or none.

ON THE MOVE

The Gas Co. has announced the following new appointments:

» Debra Henton as vice president of operations. She has more than 20 years of experience in the company including vice president of public sector marketing and sales, vice president of customer affairs and manager of customer relations.

» Chris Edwards as controller. He has experience in the petroleum industry in Houston and was previously audit manager for Deloitte & Touche LLP.

» Richard Ho as manager of purchasing and warehouse. He was previously procurement team leader for Chevron Hawaii’s refinery and is president of the National Association of Purchasing Management Hawaii chapter.

Hyatt Regency Maui has named Michael Murphy executive assistant manager, rooms division. He has served in various positions in the company since 1996, including executive assistant rooms manager at Hyatt Regency Bellevue, rooms manager at the Hyatt Hotels corporate office and assistant rooms executive at Hyatt Regency Chicago.

Central Pacific Bank has been named as a Small Business Administration Lender of the Year for 2010. Central Pacific Bank approved 56 loans to small businesses in Hawaii during the past 12 months and has cumulatively made more small-business loans than other banks in the state over the past five years.