Hawaiian Air appeals Haneda decision
Hawaiian Airlines is appealing last month’s decision by the U.S. Department of Transportation that allowed Delta Air Lines to retain its slot providing service between Seattle and Tokyo’s Haneda International Airport. It was the third time that Hawaiian has been rejected for a Haneda-Kona route.
The Haneda slots are highly coveted because the airport is about only 10 miles from downtown Tokyo. The Seattle slot was reopened for bidding after Delta reduced service to Haneda during the winter months. In March the DOT said it would allow Delta to keep that slot if the airline would resume daily service — which it has done — and said American would be the backup in case Delta violated its agreement.
"The department’s order granting Delta Air Lines its third chance to fulfill promises to the department to provide reliable service to Tokyo’s Haneda Airport is hard to fathom given the evidence that Delta’s scheduling practices reflect a deliberate strategy to play keep-away with these valuable service rights," Hawaiian wrote recently in its objection. In awarding backup authority to American’s Los Angeles-Haneda service, "the department expressed a preference for ‘U.S. business travelers in particular’ over the ‘increased international tourism and economic activity’ that would result from Hawaiian’s proposal," Hawaiian wrote.
Of the four Haneda slots that were awarded in 2010, Hawaiian received one for Honolulu, Delta received slots for Los Angeles and Detroit, and American Airlines received one for New York. Delta subsequently received approval to transfer its underperforming Detroit slot to Seattle, where it subsequently reduced service during the winter months. American received approval to transfer its money-losing New York slot to San Francisco.
AARP Hawaii starts Fraud Watch Network
AARP Hawaii will reach out by telephone to about 45,000 of its members across the state from 9:05 to 10:05 a.m. Saturday for a conversation about avoiding financial fraud and identity theft. The call marks the debut of AARP’s Fraud Watch Network in Hawaii, an educational effort aimed at arming residents with the tools to spot and avoid falling victim to fraud. The public can access an audio stream of the call via vekeo.buzz/f0e.
AARP Hawaii State Director Barbara Kim Stanton will moderate the call, which features representatives of local and federal agencies on the front lines of reporting, regulating and prosecuting fraud.
Participants will be Scott Spallina, deputy prosecuting attorney of the City and County of Honolulu, which prosecutes cases of fraud and educates the community; Lisa Nakao of the Hawaii Better Business Bureau, one of the agencies residents turn to to report fraud and suspected fraud; and Joshua Bailes of the U.S. Commodity Futures Trading Commission, which protects investors from fraud, manipulation and abusive practices in the commodity markets.
Participants can join AARP’s Fraud Watch Network to receive scam alerts and other fraud-avoidance resources. For more information, go to aarp.org/FraudWatchNetwork.
GE posts $13.6B loss on finance unit sale
NEW YORK » The industrial heart of General Electric, the company’s new focus, posted lower revenue and earnings in the first quarter amid an enormous overall loss resulting from its recently announced sale of most of the assets in its finance subsidiary.
Net income from the part of GE that the company will retain after the sale fell 5 percent to $3.1 billion, the company said Friday. Adjusted earnings per share fell 6 percent to 31 cents. Revenue fell 12 percent to $29.4 billion.
GE announced last week it would sell most of the assets in its GE Capital subsidiary, the latest and most dramatic move by the company to transform itself into a more focused industrial conglomerate that makes large, complicated equipment for other businesses.
Costs and charges associated with the sale totaling $14.1 billion pushed the company to an overall loss of $13.57 billion in the quarter, down from a profit of $3 billion during last year’s first quarter.
Barbie rebounds as Mattel plots comeback
NEW YORK » Mattel, the toy company behind the plastic Barbie dolls, said there were some signs of improving demand for the doll ahead of its planned makeover of the brand, including Barbie dolls with different skin tones, eye colors and nose shapes to better relate to multicultural girls and their mothers.
The company said Thursday that more people were buying Barbie dolls in U.S. stores during the first quarter. However, Mattel said overall sales of the brand including sales to retailers were still down 14 percent, largely because of the stronger dollar. Barbie sales have fallen as kids turn to tablets and other toys. Mattel hopes to reinvent the brand this year. In June, Barbie will have 23 new looks with different skin tones and hair colors that will be part of its core Fashionista line.
ON THE MOVE
The Hawaii Jaycees has named its executive team for 2015: Daren S. Kimura as president and executive committee members Rachel Cabanizas, Andrea Kubo-Nakasone, Lai Kin Kwong, Jessica Muranaka, Jon Nakasone, Ryan Ng and Jay Raymundo.
First Hawaiian Bank has announced the following promotions:
» Darian DeSellem to vice president and team leader of its risk analysis division from assistant vice president and team leader. He joined the bank in 2008 as a senior business analyst and has 11 years of experience in business analysis.
» Jodie Duvall to vice president, senior wealth adviser and team leader of its wealth advisory division from assistant vice president and senior wealth adviser. She has 16 years of financial planning experience and also serves as team leader for the bank’s private wealth management team.
