Hawaiian flying more passengers

The number of passengers flying on Hawaiian Airlines increased nearly 8 percent in May compared with a year earlier. Hawaiian carried 737,533 passengers in the month, versus 685,051 in May 2010. Its load factor, or percentage of seats filled, declined 1.0 percent, to 84.5 percent from 85.5 percent.

Revenue passenger miles, a measure of one paying passenger transported one mile, increased by 24.8 percent to 865 million miles. The airline also reported a 26.2 percent increase in available seat miles, which measures one seat transported one mile.

The airline said the number of passengers carried from January to May is up 4.8 percent from a year ago to 3.5 million.

A&B sells in South, buys in Northwest

Honolulu-based A&B Properties Inc. has sold the 139,500-square-foot Arbor Park Shopping Center in San Antonio, Texas, for $22.5 million, and in a separate transaction, bought the two-building, 84,100-square-foot Union Bank Office complex in Everett, Wash., for $10.9 million. The Arbor Park property had been purchased in 1998 for $16 million.

The Union Bank acquisition "continues our strategy of effectively using 1031 exchanges to improve the quality of our income portfolio," said Norbert Buelsing, A&B Properties president.

The property is 100 percent leased to Union Bank of San Francisco.

With the sale and purchase, A&B Properties’ commercial property inventory consists of 7.8 million square feet of retail, office and industrial space in Hawaii and eight mainland states.

DTRIC’s financial strength affirmed

Local insurance provider DTRIC Insurance Co. Ltd. and its reinsured affiliate, DTRIC Insurance Underwriters Ltd. have been affirmed by A.M. Best Co., the world’s largest insurance rating and information source.

A.M. Best has affirmed the companies’ financial strength and issuer credit ratings and describes the companies’ ratings outlook as stable.

The ratings reflect DTRIC’s adequate risk-based capitalization, prudent reserving practice, various distribution channels and stable loss ratio over the past five years, A.M. Best said in a statement. The ratings also take into account, support from DTRIC’s Japan-based parent, Aioi Nissay Dowa Insurance Co. Ltd.

China now has largest energy thirst

LONDON » China has moved ahead of the United States as the world’s biggest consumer of energy, accounting for 20.3 percent of global demand compared with 19 percent for the U.S., BP PLC said in its 60th annual Statistical Review of World Energy.

The International Energy Agency reported in July that China had become the world’s biggest energy consumer, though Chinese officials insisted their country still lagged behind the United States.

China was by far the world’s largest consumer of coal, taking 48 percent. The United States had the biggest thirst for oil with 21 percent of global demand, double China’s consumption.

ON THE MOVE

Hi‘olani Care Center at Kahala Nui has hired Jay C. Duquette as administrator. He was previously an administrator of Maluhia Hospital for 12 years and spent 13 years with Kapiolani Health Corp., which is now known as Hawaii Pacific Health. Duquette served in a variety of positions, including manager of patient accounting for Kapiolani Medical Center for Women & Children as well as director of patient accounting and revenue management for Kapiolani Health.

Central Pacific Bank has appointed Glen Blackmon as executive vice president and chief information officer. He has more than 30 years of experience in multiple industries, including financial services, high technology and third-party administrative business services.

Cyanotech Corp.’s board of directors has elected Thomas F. Chen as director. He has 31 years of senior executive experience with leading pharmaceutical, nutritional product and hospital device companies, including as president of the International Nutrition Division of Abbott Laboratories and vice president of Abbott’s Asia, Pacific and Africa region, as well as in various positions with American Cyanamid Co., which merged with American Home Products.