‘Last Resort’ viewers continue to dwindle
“Last Resort,” the failed ABC political thriller that shot in Hawaii last year, returned Thursday from a holiday break and delivered another night of low ratings. The show drew 5.78 million viewers, according to Neilsen ratings released by the network. Among adults 18-49 Thursday, “Last Resort” drew 1.2 percent of the total viewing audience and 3 percent of those watching TV at the time. The series, which airs regularly on Thursdays, will end Jan. 24.
ABC originally ordered only 13 episodes of "Last Resort" and decided in November not to order more due to the show’s poor ratings. — Mike Gordon
Flight attendant awarded $50K for service
United Airlines flight attendant Jane Doucette was awarded $50,000 for service she provided to Honolulu resident Jonipher Kwong on a flight to Los Angeles over the summer.
Doucette won the grand prize cash award as part of $125,000 United awarded to employees in its Outperform Recognition Program, while Kwong received a voucher for two round-trip tickets valid for international travel aboard United.
Fifteen more employees were awarded sums ranging from $25,000 to $2,500 as part of the recognition program, while customers who nominated them were awarded frequent-flier mileage.
Hawaiian Airlines first in service reliability
Hawaiian Airlines earned the No. 1 ranking for service reliability in November among the nation’s 15 largest carriers, arriving on schedule 94.1 percent of the time and reporting no cancellations out of 5,985 flights.
The airline’s on-time performance was 8.4 percentage points better than the industry average of 85.7 percent, according to the U.S. Department of Transportation’s Air Travel Consumer Report. AirTran Airways, which is being merged into Southwest Airlines, was second best at 91.3 percent.
Hawaiian finished eighth for fewest mishandled baggage reports with 2.56 per 1,000 passengers, or a total of 1,899 reports for 742,497 passengers. And the airline was 10th for fewest consumer complaints with 1.39 per 100,000 passengers, or 11 out of 791,033 passengers.
United offers baggage delivery in Honolulu
United Airlines has inaugurated a baggage delivery service option that will allow passengers to skip baggage claim and have checked bags delivered to their final destination, such as a Waikiki hotel.
United is rolling out its BagsVIP service in Honolulu, Boston, Chicago, Houston, Los Angeles and Orlando, Fla. Fees for the service start at $29.95 for one bag, $39.95 for two bags and $49.95 for three to eight bags, for deliveries within a 40-mile radius. Beyond that, additional fees apply for deliveries up to 100 miles from a customer’s arrival airport. The service can be ordered from BagsVIP online at www.maketraveleasier.com/BagsVIP or via phone at 877-847-0045.
‘Olelo will broadcast sold-out farming talk
Tuesday’s "Seed Freedom Is Food Freedom" presentation by sustainable-farming advocate Vandana Shiva at the University of Hawaii at Manoa is sold out, but those interested can still catch her remarks live via ‘Olelo Community Media and a subsequent cablecast.
Shiva also advocates traditional practices in agriculture and food, and will be joined during the event by Andrew Kimbrell, executive director of the Center for Food Safety and of the International Center for Technology Assessment.
Kimbrell is an environmental attorney and author of books on the environment, food and technology.
Their remarks will be streamed live and will continue to be offered on demand at www.olelo.org. It also will be cablecast on ‘Olelo Ch. 49 from 6 to 9 p.m. Tuesday. Online viewers can participate in the question-and-answer session by posting questions on the Hawai‘i SEED Facebook page.
NYSE accepts Maui Land & Pine plan
The New York Stock Exchange has accepted a plan by Maui Land & Pineapple Co. for its continued listing on the exchange, the company said Friday.
Maui Land & Pine’s common stock will continue to be listed on the NYSE subject to quarterly reviews.
Exchange officials had notified the company in October that MLP had fallen below the NYSE’s continued listing standards, citing its average market capitalization at less than $50 million over a 30-trading-day period.
Exchange officials also noted that its most recently reported shareholders’ equity was less than $50 million.
MLP now has 18 months in which to comply with the average market capitalization standard, subject to compliance with other NYSE requirements.
The company’s shares rose 3 cents to $4.11 on Friday.
On the Move
UHA Health Insurance has named Tom Roy an account executive on Maui. Before joining the company, Roy was one of the top-performing sales executives for Marriott Vacations Worldwide as well as a managing director with consulting firm Shiland Partners in Houston.
First Insurance Co. of Hawaii’s board of directors has elected Todd Takayama vice president of personal lines. He joined FICOH’s commercial lines department in 2010 and was promoted to assistant vice president in 2011. Before joining the company, Takayama served in leadership positions in various insurance carriers locally and on the mainland.
Hawaiian Airlines has appointed Doreen “Dola” Lawrence to vice president of inflight services. She has 22 years of domestic and international airline management experience, including serving as director of in-flight and catering for Virgin America and director of in-flight service for JetBlue Airways.
