• Hawaiian year-over traffic up 25% • TGI poll: Kaua‘i not ready for ferry • Island Air takes over Aloha’s Explorer program • First Hawaiian, Japan’s largest trust bank to offer estate settlement • KPAA annual meeting to feature teen
• Hawaiian year-over traffic up 25%
• TGI poll: Kaua‘i not ready for ferry
• Island Air takes over Aloha’s Explorer program
• First Hawaiian, Japan’s largest trust bank to offer estate settlement
• KPAA annual meeting to feature teen panel
Hawaiian year-over traffic up 25%
Hawaiian Airlines’ total traffic in April rose 25.5 percent over the same month last year due to the increase in flights following Aloha and ATA airlines withdrawl from the Hawai‘i market.
Hawaiian served a total of 718,767 passengers in April for scheduled and charter operations, up from 572,613 the year prior.
Year to date, Hawaiian served a total of 2,451,763 passengers, up 9.1 percent over the same four-month period in 2007.
This week Hawaiian announced a codeshare agreement with United Airlines. United currently offers 18 flights daily between Hawai‘i and the Mainland.
“This new marketing partnership between the largest carrier to Hawai‘i and the largest carrier within Hawai‘i strengthens our franchise as the airline of choice between the Hawaiian Islands,” Glenn Taniguchi, Hawaiian Airlines senior vice president of marketing and sales, said.
United expects to begin offering the codeshare flights at the end of this summer. The agreement with Hawaiian replaces United’s codeshare agreement with Aloha Airlines following the dissolution of its passenger services in April.
TGI poll: Kaua‘i not ready for ferry
The Garden Island’s online poll on the Hawaii Superferry revealed the majority of participants feel Kaua‘i is not ready for the vessel to return.
The seven-day poll received a total of 1,895 votes.
Of those, 1,050, or 55 percent of participants, said Kaua‘i was not ready for the Superferry. A total of 845, or 45 percent of votes, said Kaua‘i was ready.
Island Air takes over Aloha’s Explorer program
Island Air has taken over Aloha Airlines’ Explorer program, which teaches students between the ages of 16 and 20 about the airline industry.
The program provides hands-on opportunities to learn about aviation careers such as flight attendant, pilot and customer service.
On Friday, Island Air signed a memorandum of understanding with the organization Learning for Life, an affiliate of Boy Scouts of America. This is a first step to becoming an official Aviation Explorer Post.
Island Air plans to re-launch the program in spring 2009 as Island Explorers.
Island Air In-flight Manager Robert Nakamura said Island Explorer will maintain much of the curriculum developed by Aloha Airlines.
“The employees at Island Air are very excited to be involved and the number of volunteer participants has been overwhelming,” Nakamura said.
The original Aloha Explorer program began in 1989 and graduated about 550 students. The last Aloha Explorer class graduated April 16.
A regional carrier, Island Air offers 444 weekly flights between O‘ahu, two locations on Maui, Moloka‘i, Lana‘i, Kaua‘i and two locations on the Big Island.
First Hawaiian, Japan’s largest trust bank to offer estate settlement
First Hawaiian Bank signed an agreement last week with Japan’s largest trust banks, Mitsubishi UFJ Trust and Banking Corp., to provide estate settlement services for Japanese citizens.
“Hawai‘i has long been an attractive investment market for Japanese citizens, and we anticipate continued investment growth in the future,” said Don Horner, First Hawaiian Bank’s president and chief executive.
The service will provide solutions for complex estate settlement for Japanese nationals with investments in Hawai‘i, Guam, and Saipan.”
First Hawaiian Bank is Hawai‘i’s oldest and largest bank with branches in Hawai‘i, Guam and Saipan.
Mitsubishi UFJ Trust and Banking Corp. is the core member and a wholly owned subsidiary of Mitsubishi UFJ Financial Group Inc. It is Japan’s largest trust bank, with a network of 77 branches and 15 satellite offices in Japan.
For more information, visit www.tr.mufg.jp
KPAA annual meeting to feature teen panel
Anyone wondering what young people think about the future is invited to attend the Kaua‘i Planning & Action Alliance annual meeting from 3 p.m. to 5 p.m. Thursday at Kaua‘i Community College cafeteria.
After a short business meeting, the program will feature “Voices of the Future: A Dialogue with Kaua‘i Youth.” There will be a panel of high school students sharing their vision of the future and how we as a community can help them achieve their goals.
To RSVP, call KPAA at 632-2005.