Alaska, Hawaiian, Spirit airlines tops in fuel efficiency
Alaska Airlines is ranked No. 1 in fuel efficiency by the International Council on Clean Transportation, according to a report released Tuesday.
The study is the first to quantify fuel performance for U.S. airlines and ranks Alaska and regional partner Horizon Air above all 15 so-called mainline U.S. carriers operating in the U.S. in 2010.
Alaska, headquartered in Seattle, outperformed the least fuel-efficient carrier, Las Vegas-based Allegiant Air, by 26 percent.
Both Hawaiian Airlines and Florida-based Spirit Airlines tied for second best in the nation.
Alaska and Allegiant, as well as Hawaiian, all operate flights between the mainland and the islands.
Blue Startups names startup beneficiaries
Hawaii-based technology accelerator Blue Startups has selected a second group of companies for which it will provide investment capital and mentorship. Blue Startups is led by Blue Planet Software founder and Tetris sole agent Henk Rogers.
Blue Startups selected just seven of more than 200 applicants for its fall 2013 class, which started Monday.
Startup companies selected:
» Gibi: It assists in finding lost pets using mobile-to-mobile (M2M) technology and smartphone apps. For more information, visit www.gibitechnologies.com.
» Happy Hour Pal: An app and website that promotes happy hours operating in Hawaii. The company is expanding to Oregon, New York and other places. For more information, visit www.happyhourpal.com.
» See/Rescue: An e-commerce business to sell military-approved and adopted See/Rescue Streamer lifesaving technology to a broad consumer audience. For more information, visit seerescuestreamer.com.
» Workers on Call: An app that assists employers in need of online projects completed immediately. The app connects employers with workers who are available to work instantly, globally. For more information, visit www.workersoncall.com.
» XMAP: A treasure hunt application. Players look for a physical card hidden in real-life locations (such as a public park) to win real money. The participant solves a series of puzzles to pinpoint the prize location. For more information, visit thexmap.com.
» SIFTools: Provides interactive tools, such as real-time polling and analysis, that harness the collective intelligence of co-located or distributed groups of people such as conference-goers and virtual organizations. For more information, visit www.siftools.com.
» Henk’s Wild Card: Rogers provides the business idea, and the selected team will execute the business plan. Winners of the wild-card team include Mario Quezada, Luke Tucker, Allan Solidum and Tarik Sultan. The team comprises experienced designers, programmers and business experts. Funding and support will be provided by Blue Startups.
Island Air generates $635,000 in bag fees
Island Air earned $635,000 from baggage fees and an additional $128,000 from reservation cancellation and change fees during the first quarter, according to data published this week from the U.S. Department of Transportation.
The small local carrier, which changed to 64-seat ATR-42 aircraft from 37-seat de Havilland Dash-8 aircraft during the quarter, charges $15 for the first checked bag and $30 for the second checked bag.
Island Air is owned by billionaire Oracle CEO Larry Ellison, who also owns 97 percent of the island of Lanai.
Chevron to give up to $350,000 to isle schools
Chevron U.S.A. Inc. said Tuesday that Hawaii will be one of the 14 U.S. communities to benefit from Chevron’s Fuel Your School Program.
Chevron will contribute $1 to help fund eligible classroom projects when consumers purchase eight or more gallons of fuel from Oct. 1 to 31 at participating Chevron and Texaco stations, up to a total contribution of $350,000 in Hawaii.
"We are proud to work with DonorsChoose.org on the Fuel Your School program, which will help bring projects designed by our public school teachers to life," said Carina Tagupa, community relations specialist for Chevron Hawaii. "These projects can widen the possibilities offered to our students and challenge them to reach their full potential."
ON THE MOVE
The Chamber of Commerce of Hawaii made the following announcements:
» Pono Chong has been promoted to vice president of business advocacy. He joined the chamber in January as a director of business advocacy. Chong’s experience includes serving in the Hawaii state government for 20 years.
» Lori Abe has been named vice president of communications and marketing. She served 26 years in communications and was previously a senior vice president with Anthology Marketing Group at McNeil Wilson Communications.
» Tracey Saiki has been appointed to director of the military affairs program while serving as a liaison and advocate for enhancing relationships between the military and businesses in Hawaii through support programs, special events and partnership efforts.
