Business Briefs

Makani Kai Air expands Honolulu-Molokai service

Makani Kai Air is expanding its Molokai service and will offer five daily round-trip flights between Honolulu and Kalaupapa beginning Saturday. The airline currently offers twice-daily service between Honolulu and Kalaupapa six days a week and one round trip on Sundays.

“We are encouraged by the response from the Molokai community,” Makani Kai Air President Richard Schuman said. “Since we began our service to Kalaupapa two years ago, there has been a tremendous amount of support for Makani Kai.”

Makani Kai Air, established by Schuman Aviation Co. in 2009, uses two Cessna Grand Caravan turbine aircraft, two Piper Chieftain twin-engine airplanes, two Eurocopter AS-350 A-Stars, and an MD500.

The parent company also operates Makani Kai Helicopters.

Hawaiian Air boosts passenger traffic 7%

Hawaiian Airlines’ passenger traffic rose 7 percent in May even as the rapidly expanding carrier filled a lower percentage of its seats.

The state’s largest airline said Wednesday it transported 836,600 people compared with 782,093 in May 2012. Its load factor, or the percentage of seats filled, fell 2.9 percentage points to 80.3 percent from 83.2 percent.

The lower load factor was due to increased air seats from the company’s expansion. Available seat miles, or one seat transported one mile, jumped 22 percent to 1.4 million from 1.2 million. Revenue passenger miles, or one paying passenger transported one mile, increased 17.7 percent to 1.1 million from 973,338.

Territorial plans another buyback program

The parent of Territorial Savings Bank has adopted a fourth stock repurchase program in which it said it may buy back up to 532,000 shares of its common stock, or approximately 5 percent of its current outstanding shares.

"The board of directors believes this repurchase plan should enhance the long-term interest of the company’s shareholders," said Allan Kitagawa, chairman, president and CEO of Territorial Bancorp Inc.

Territorial said repurchases will be made at management’s discretion at prices management considers to be attractive and in the best interests of both the company and its stockholders. The repurchase program permits shares to be repurchased in open market or private transactions.

Territorial’s stock closed down 12 cents Wednesday at $23.37 on the Nasdaq Stock Market.

Hyatt Place Waikiki Beach sold for $138.5M

The fee-simple interest in the 426-room Hyatt Place Waikiki Beach has been sold for $138.5 million.

Host Hotels & Resorts Inc. announced the purchase, which involved Chartres Lodging Group LLC and Morgan Stanley Real Estate Fund VII Global.

After the purchase announcement, Host Hotels & Resorts Inc. reached a new agreement with Kokua Hospitality to continue to manage Hyatt Place Waikiki.

The property, at 175 Paoakalani Ave., underwent a $45 million renovation before its conversion to Hyatt Place Waikiki Beach from Ocean Resort Hotel Waikiki in 2012.

UH lab awards contract for launch system

The University of Hawaii’s Space Flight Laboratory has awarded a contract to build, integrate and test a space satellite and rocket launching system. The $500,000 contract was awarded to California-based National Technical Systems Inc., a provider of testing and engineering services.

The Hawaii Space Flight Laboratory contract calls for NTS to design, build and test a rocket and satellite launching system called the Super Strypi Launcher. HSFL is affiliated with the University of Hawaii at Manoa, its School of Ocean and Earth Science and Technology and its College of Engineering.

The U.S. Air Force’s Operationally Responsive Space Office in New Mexico will serve as the project manager.

Honolulu Publishing acquires magazines

Honolulu Publishing Co. has purchased the Spotlight Gold visitor-oriented magazines from Inflight Marketing Inc. for an undisclosed price. The visitor publications will be a "strong fit" with Honolulu Publishing’s Drive Guides, Chairman David Pellegrin said in a statement.

The drive guides are distributed by Hawaii’s car rental industry and, like the Spotlight Gold magazines, publish versions for each of the four major islands.

Inflight Vice President and Group Publisher Sandra Kinsella will join Honolulu Publishing in an identical role and will continue to oversee the Spotlight Gold magazines.

Inflight Marketing President William Schoen, based in California, plans to sell the Kakaako building that houses the publications, hence the decision to sell the magazines.

Classic cars go on display at Kahala Mall

More than 175 vehicles will be displayed Saturday at Kahala Mall’s rooftop parking deck above Longs Drugs in an event that will include live entertainment and prize giveaways.

The Cruise Night Classic Car Show will run from 2 to 8 p.m. as part of a full day of activities from 10 a.m. to 9 p.m.

Starting at noon, donations of $5, or 5 pounds of food, will net donors free rides aboard an antique fire truck between 2 and 4:40 p.m. The day also will include car-themed activities for keiki from 2 to 3 p.m. and entertainment featuring Kamele from 4 to 6 p.m.

Braking issue prompts Prius, Lexus recall

TOKYO >> Toyota Motor Corp. said Wednesday it is recalling about 242,000 of its Prius and Lexus hybrid vehicles because of problems with their braking systems.

The recall applies to about 233,000 Prius vehicles made between March and October 2009 and about 9,000 Lexus HS250h models made between June and October 2009.

Microsoft to add Outlook to Windows RT

SAN FRANCISCO » Microsoft will add its popular Outlook email program to more tablets running on a lightweight version of its Windows operating system as part of a free software update this year.

The Outlook 2013 app will be given to owners of Microsoft’s Surface tablet and similar devices running Windows RT. That’s a slimmed down version of Windows 8, a radical overhaul of the ubiquitous operating system used on most personal computers.

Microsoft Corp. is preparing to modify Windows 8 in response to consumer complaints about the redesigned system released last October. The Redmond, Wash., company announced the addition of Outlook for Windows RT tablets Wednesday at a computer trade show in Taiwan.

ON THE MOVE

The Queen’s Medical Center has hired Dr. David R. Lee as director of facilities and biomedical engineering. He will oversee all company facility projects including the renovation of the Queen’s Medical Center West Oahu. He was previously with Outrigger Enterprises Group as vice president of its property services department.

Nathan Kam has been named executive vice president at McNeil Wilson Communications. He joined the firm in 2000 and was previously vice president of MWC.

Gov. Neil Aber­crombie has appointed Glenda Tali to the state Board of Nursing. She has served as Hawaii campus college chair for the University of Phoenix College of Health Sciences and Nursing since 2008.

Ka Punawai Ola has hired Shonda Taylor as executive director. Her experience includes serving as executive director at Life Care Center of Sierra Vista, Ariz., and as administrator at DeRidder Retirement and Rehabilitation Center in DeRidder, La.