Digital Island to cut 10% of staff as losses mount

Honolulu-founded Web-hosting firm Digital Island Inc. said today it plans to cut an additional 90 workers, or 10 percent of its staff, by June 30.

The planned action, which is part of a cost-reduction strategy, will follow the prior 12 percent staff paring that eliminated about 113 jobs at the company, now based in San Francisco.

Digital Island will have about 805 employees after the 22 percent of cuts, a spokesman for the company said. In its second quarter that ended March 31, the company said today it posted a net loss of $1.19 billion, or $15.11 per share, on revenues of $32.8 million.

Digital Island also said Tuesday that Tom Thompson has resigned as chief financial officer, effective April 30, to pursue personal interests. Addo Barrows, who is currently the company's treasurer, will assume Thompson's duties as interim CFO. Digital Island's stock fell 43 cents today to $2.04.

Aloha Airlines begins Orange County service

Aloha Airlines launched its service from Honolulu to Orange County today with ceremonies at Honolulu Airport to mark the departure of Flight 482, scheduled to leave at 11:25 a.m. for John Wayne Airport. The airline hopes that the daily service, using new Boeing 737-700 aircraft, will be convenient for travelers from a large California population area who otherwise would have the inconvenience of going to a big-city airport.

Aloha is also selling the service as an easy way for Hawaii residents to get to Disneyland, about 20 minutes away from John Wayne Airport.

Hawaiian Air attendants OK 42-month contract

Members of the union representing nearly 900 flight attendants at Hawaiian Airlines yesterday ratified a new 42-month labor agreement that went into effect today.

The airline and its unit of the Association of Flight Attendants had announced March 26 that they had reached a tentative settlement. Full terms of the new contract have not been disclosed but the union said that junior flight attendants, whose pay was as low as $13,500 under the old contract, will see that more than double and annual pay for the most senior attendants will rise 36 percent through the length of the contract to about $35,000.

Hawaii airport bonds receive 'A' rating

A $422 million issue of revenue bonds to finance Hawaii's airports has received an "A" rating from the international Fitch rating service. That is not Fitch's highest, but the service's New York office said that since the Hawaii revenue bonds to be sold next week will be covered by AAA-rated bond insurance, the effective rating is "AAA," which Fitch applies to "very high claims-paying ability."

Fitch said the state Department of Transportation's "monopoly" ownership of the statewide airport system is a positive credit factor, as are Hawaii's dependence on air travel and the airports' strong cash position, with more than $600 million available for capital projects.

Risks that helped it choose an "A" rating (for "high claims-paying ability") include Hawaii's reliance on tourism, which can be affected by outside developments, Fitch said.

Cyanotech to get patent for treating carpal tunnel

Big Island biotech company Cyanotech said today is has received notice that its patent application for treating carpal tunnel syndrome has been allowed by the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office. The method uses Cyanotech's BioAstin product, manufactured from astaxanthin microalgae.

The company has filed four U.S. patent applications for BioAstin, and has three clinical trials underway, one to assess BioAstin's effects on muscle soreness, one to offer relief from carpal tunnel syndrome, and one assessing its effects as a sunscreen.

Cyanotech's stock soared 23.8 percent, or 24 cents, to $1.25 today on volume of 196,700 shares, four times its six-month daily average.