Quality high, quantity lower

First, the good news for Hawaiian Airlines.

In the latest Airline Quality Index, Hawaiian Air snagged the lofty No. 3 spot, behind Virgin America and JetBlue Airways. That ranking means even more since the airline industry itself has improved in overall performance quality over the previous two years, said Index researchers.

But, some not-so-good news for Hawaiian Air: Its passenger traffic dropped 3.1 percent in March as it decreased seat capacity from the year-earlier period. Also, its revenue passenger miles — one paying passenger transported one mile — fell 5.3 percent to 1.09 million.

No doubt company execs hope it’s just some temporary turbulence.

Party and ponder meaning of life

Ever ponder your place in the universe? The Institute for Astronomy invites you to consider that question at two free public events.

The institute will hold parties at Kapiolani Park and next to the Kahuku Public Library on Monday, 7-11:30 p.m., to view the eclipsed moon and other celestial sights through telescopes and binoculars. The Kapiolani Park event will be on Soccer Field #5, at Paki Avenue near the corner of Monsarrat Avenue. The North Shore event is adjacent to the Kahuku Library at 56-490 Kamehameha Highway.

"Celestial events like this eclipse are a great opportunity for us … to reach out to the community, especially here in Hawaii, where knowledge of the night sky is an integral part of the culture and history," said Roy Gal, the institute’s outreach coordinator. "We love to get people looking up and thinking about our connection to the rest of the universe."