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JAL to extend Hawaii flight reduction

Japan Airlines said today its Tokyo-Honolulu service will remain at one flight a day through June, half the service it had planned to offer. JAL cut one of its two daily Tokyo flights May 7 but had planned to restore it June 1.

Instead, the airline will stay at one a day through July 14. At that time, instead of its planned increase to four flights a day, JAL will go to three a day through Aug. 31.

JAL made previous service cuts in March and April, including trimming its Osaka-Honolulu service in half to one flight a day.

The latest Hawaii cut is part of a round of Asia-Pacific cuts as the SARS threat continues to discourage travel.

According to state figures, air travel from Japan to Hawaii this month is down 44.4 percent from May 2002.

ML Macadamia narrows loss

ML Macadamia Orchards LP said today it lost $143,000 in the first quarter as nut sales plunged 36.9 percent due to the usual harvest timing of the annual crop.

Despite the revenue decline, the company narrowed its loss from a $146,000 deficit a year ago. ML Macadamia lost 2 cents a share in both periods.

"The crop runs basically from July through June, so you get artificial ups and downs in the crop year," said Dennis Simonis, ML Macadamia's president and chief operating officer. "The first quarter was relatively small as far as total pounds (2.3 million pounds compared with 3.4 millions pounds a year ago), but for the full year we expect the crop to meet our expectations."

Total revenue dropped 11.7 percent to $2.3 million from $2.6 million, largely due to lower nut sales, which fell to $1 million from $1.6 million. Average nut prices received in the first quarter were 45.1 cents a pound compared with an average of 48.2 cents a pound a year ago.

Farming service revenue rose 30.7 percent to $1.3 million from $975,000.

The company owns or leases more than 4,100 acres of orchards on the Big Island.

Alaska tour firm adds Maui flights

An Alaska tour company plans to offer nonstop flights between Maui and two Northwest cities starting this winter.

Anchorage-based Hawaiian Vacations will offer the weekly flights from Boise, Idaho, and Spokane, Wash., from November through April.

The flights will be offered via North American Airlines on Boeing 757s, which carry 202 passengers.

"Hawaiian Vacations is an Alaskan company that has been taking Alaskans to Hawaii for over 20 years," said David Karp, vice president and chief operating officer of Hawaiian Vacations. "Now we can share the same convenience with Boise and Spokane area residents. It's exciting to think that locals can get on an airplane and not get off until they reach their ultimate Hawaiian destination."

The new service adds to the growing number of direct flights between the mainland and Maui.

Last month, Continental Airlines announced a new route between its Houston hub and the Valley Isle.

Maui officials say all the major U.S. carriers now offer direct flights from the mainland to Maui, along with Hawaii-based carriers Hawaiian and Aloha airlines.

First Hawaiian Guam branch ruled OK

First Hawaiian Bank said yesterday the Guam Supreme Court has upheld the legality of the bank's year-old branch in the city of Tamuning.

The Supreme Court rejected an appeal by Bank of Guam, which argued that under Guam law, non-Guam banks are restricted from opening new branches and ATMs.

The Federal Deposit Insurance Corp. had backed First Hawaiian, saying federal banking law superseded Guam law and permitted the branch. The Guam Supreme Court agreed.

First Hawaiian, which already had two branches on Guam, in October 2001 applied to open a third branch in Tamuning at the site of a former branch of Union Bank of California, whose Guam and Saipan branch network it had acquired.

The legal challenge delayed the new branch's opening until May 2002, when Guam Superior Court Judge Michael J. Bordallo allowed it to proceed. Bank of Guam appealed that decision to the Supreme Court, which rejected the appeal yesterday.

Verizon to auction equipment

Verizon Hawaii will have a public auction Sunday to liquidate surplus equipment.

Auction items include automobiles, trucks, trailers, desks, file cabinets, chairs, pallet jacks, conveyor rollers and drafting tables. Items can be inspected 9 a.m. to 3 p.m. Saturday and 8 a.m. to 9 a.m. Sunday prior to the 10 a.m. auction at 1021 Kikowaena Place.

In other news ...

>>The U.S. trade deficit widened in March to $43.5 billion, the second-highest on record, as imports of foreign-made industrial supplies, including crude oil, rose to an all-time monthly high.

>> Analysts are speculating that Deutsche Lufthansa AG may be forced to fire employees for the first time in its history amid weakness in the German economy and the global travel industry. Europe's third-largest airline reports earnings tomorrow.