Alaska Airlines sees Hawaii growth slowing
Alaska Airlines, which flies 22 percent of its routes to Hawaii, said its growth in the islands appears to have tapped out for now.
“Hawaii is getting kind of built out in terms of the capacity,” CEO Brad Tilden said Thursday on an earnings conference call after the Seattle-based carrier reported a 53 percent increase in second-quarter earnings. “Not having the Hawaii opportunity probably says, well, growth is going to be a little bit slower in the next couple of years than it has been in the last three or four years.”
The Seattle-based carrier entered the market with Seattle-Honolulu service in October 2007. It now offers 26 daily flights to Hawaii from the mainland, but due to increased competition it has reduced the frequency on some of those routes, particularly from the California cities of Oakland and San Jose.
Gay marriage could mean millions
A new economic analysis from the University of Hawaii says legalizing gay marriage in the state would boost tourism by $217 million over the next three years.
The study from the university’s Economic Research Organization says that would boost state and local general excise tax revenues by $10.2 million from 2014 through 2016.
Previous estimates on the effect gay marriage would have on tourism were less specific because two U.S. Supreme Court cases were pending.
The study’s author, professor Sumner La Croix, said the recent decisions that affirmed federal benefits for married same-sex couples and rejected a law that halted gay marriages in California now give a clearer picture, but the issue is time-sensitive because of pent-up demand for same-sex marriage.
"If Hawaii waits to adopt same-sex marriage, it will not realize these gains," La Croix said in the analysis. "They will be lost forever, diverted to other states that recognize marriage equality."
Since the Supreme Court rulings last month, advocates of gay marriage have been pushing for a special legislative session in Hawaii to push for more than the civil-unions law that is already in place. But legislators from the House and Senate told the Star-Advertiser this week they don’t have the two-thirds support needed to call themselves back into session, and Gov. Neil Abercrombie has not signaled whether he will call for a special session on his own.
WestJet sets flights linking isles to Alberta
WestJet Airlines is planning to offer seasonal nonstop service from the Canadian cities of Calgary and Edmonton, Alberta, to Hawaii starting in December.
The Calgary-based carrier said it has leased two Boeing 757-200 aircraft from Thomas Cook Airlines to provide two flights a week between Calgary and Honolulu, four flights a week between Calgary and Maui, and three flights a week between Edmonton and Maui.
The flights are scheduled to begin Dec. 13 and continue through April 26.
WestJet currently offers two flights a week to Hawaii from Vancouver, British Columbia — one to Honolulu and one to Maui.
WestJet announced last month it would offer daily service between Vancouver and Kona starting Dec. 12 and between Vancouver and Kauai beginning Dec. 14.
Mortgage rates continue drop, hit 4.31%
WASHINGTON » Average rates on U.S. fixed mortgages fell for the second straight week, a welcome sign for homebuyers hoping to lock in lower rates after rates spiked earlier this month.
Mortgage buyer Freddie Mac said Thursday that the average on the 30-year loan fell to 4.31 percent. That’s down from 4.37 percent last week but nearly a full percentage point higher than in early May.
The rate reached a two-year high of 4.51 percent two weeks ago.
The average on the 15-year fixed loan declined to 3.39 percent, down from 3.41 percent last week.
Consumer Reports likes the new Impala
DETROIT » The Chevrolet Impala, long the standard-bearer for mediocre cars from Detroit, has made an amazing turnaround.
Consumer Reports magazine has ranked the completely reworked 2014 version of the full-size car as its top U.S. sedan. It’s the first time in at least 20 years that a domestic brand has beaten cars from Germany and Japan.
The new version, which began arriving in showrooms in April, scored 95 out of 100 points in the magazine’s testing to get an "Excellent" rating.
Only two cars earned higher scores: the electric Tesla Model S, which starts at $62,400, and the BMW 135i coupe with a base price of $39,300.
ON THE MOVE
Anthology Marketing Group has announced its promotion and hires for its public relations division, McNeil Wilson Communications:
>> Rebecca Pang has been promoted to senior account supervisor from account supervisor. She worked at another public relations firm in Honolulu for six years.
>> Lynn Shizumura has been hired as an account executive. She was previously working as a communications specialist at the Hawaii State Bar Association.
>> Anna Koethe has been hired as an assistant account executive. She was previously an intern at McNeil Wilson.
