Hawaiian Air to upgrade isle airport lounges
Hawaiian Airlines is investing in a multimillion-dollar renovation of all its airport lounges in the state that will include new furniture and flooring, more outlets for charging digital devices, and flight display boards.
The renovation will be conducted in two phases, with the first phase to cover the second-floor lounge at the Honolulu Airport interisland terminal, as well as the Hawaiian lounges in Kahului and Kona. The renovation is expected to take four to five months.
Once Phase 1 is complete, Hawaiian will begin Phase 2, which includes Hawaiian’s lounges in Hilo, Lihue and the third floor of the Honolulu Airport interisland terminal.
Hawaiian said the project is being conducted in two phases to minimize any disruption to its Pualani Elite and Premier Club members’ use of the lounges.
Pualani Platinum and Gold memberships are based on miles flown. Premier club is a paid membership ($299 a year) that includes lounge access as a benefit.
Condo tower’s auto dealership adds brands
The JN Group Inc. car dealership long planned for the ground level of the high-rise Symphony Honolulu development has beefed up the automotive lines it will offer.
To be called Velocity, the dealership will include Jaguar and Land Rover, other exotic import marques, and seven motorcycle brands including Ducati, Triumph and BMW Motorrad, bringing the total number of luxury brands to be represented at the dealership to 15.
Velocity will offer the building’s upscale residents an owners-only membership program to include exclusive access and concierge services, including private drivers.
China probing Microsoft in monopoly case
BEIJING » China’s anti-monopoly agency announced an investigation Tuesday of Microsoft Corp., stepping up regulatory pressure on foreign technology companies.
The State Administration for Industry and Commerce said it opened a case in June after complaints Microsoft improperly failed to publish all documentation for its Windows operating system and Office software.
It said investigators visited Microsoft’s China headquarters in Beijing and branches in Shanghai, Guangzhou and Chengdu in southwestern China this week.
Microsoft, in a prepared statement, said it aims "to build products that deliver the features, security and reliability customers expect, and we will address any concerns the government may have."
Dating site OKCupid manipulates user data
NEW YORK » This week, OKCupid became the latest company to admit that it has manipulated customer data to see how users of its dating service would react to one another.
The New York-based Internet company’s revelation follows news that Facebook let researchers change news feeds to see how it would affect users’ moods.
Big companies use customers as unwitting guinea pigs all the time, online and in the real world. OKCupid’s claim, that its research was aimed at improving its services, is common. But some find that manipulating situations to study consumer behavior without consent raises troubling privacy concerns.
U.S. consumer confidence rose in July
WASHINGTON » U.S. consumers are more confident about the economy than they have been in nearly seven years.
The Conference Board said Tuesday that its confidence index rose to 90.9 in July from an upwardly revised 86.4 in June. The July reading is the highest since October 2007, two months before the Great Recession officially began.
It was the third straight increase in the index. Economists said that strong job growth has helped boost consumers’ assessment of current conditions and also improved their outlook on jobs and the economy.
Pace of U.S. home price gains slow again
WASHINGTON » U.S. home prices rose in May from a year earlier at the weakest pace in 15 months as sales remain modest in the spring buying season.
The Standard & Poor’s/Case-Shiller 20-city home price index, released Tuesday, increased 9.3 percent in May from 12 months earlier. That’s down from 10.8 percent in the previous month and the smallest annual gain since February 2013.
Yearly price gains slowed in 18 of the 20 cities.
They accelerated in Charlotte, N.C., and were flat in Tampa, Fla.
ON THE MOVE
Xerox Hawaii has announced that Weston Kurisu has been promoted to account manager from marketing representative. Prior to joining the company in 2012, Kurisu served as a sales manager for Pacific Office Automation in Oregon.
The Honolulu Japanese Chamber of Commerce has elected the following new officers for 2014-2015: Candice Naito, chair of the board; Wayne Ishihara, president; Tyler Tokioka, chair-elect; and Gordon Kagawa, immediate past chair. Vice chairs include Roy Amemiya Jr., Dave Erdman, Mark Ibara, Brian Nishida, Terry Noyama, Melanie Okazaki, Eric Tsugawa and Jon Tsukamoto.
Damien Memorial School has announced that Paul A. Pollock has been promoted to chairman of the school’s board of directors. He has been a comptroller for Naval Facilities Engineering Command Pacific. Pollock is also chief financial officer for Naval facilities in the Pacific Rim. New members on the board are Wendell Lum, an architect at NAVFAC Hawaii; Elisa Yadao, senior vice president of consumer experience for Hawaii Medical Service Association; and Mary Benson, an exclusive agent/owner of Honolulu Insurance Specialists, an Allstate Insurance agency.
