Honolulu Star-Bulletin Business /2005/03/29/

[ FAST FACTS HAWAII ]

MAKING ECONOMICS FUN

CRAIG T. KOJIMA / CKOJIMA@STARBULLETIN.COM
Liane Muraoka, left, of Kauai High School and Dougni Ou of Kaimuki High School work on a self- watering planter during the "Imagination Gone Wild" portion of the Island Insurance Cos. 2005 Hawaii Economics Challenge. The high school competition was created to showcase Hawaii's outstanding economics students and courses.

Aloha Airlines lost $5.4M in February

Aloha Airlines, struggling financially while operating under Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection, lost $5.4 million in February.

In a report filed Friday with the U.S. Bankruptcy Court, Aloha reported gross sales of $35.1 million for the month and operating expenses of $40.2 million, including $6.9 million for fuel, to end the month with an operating loss of $5.1 million.

The airline has had a net loss of about $8.1 million in the first two months since filing for reorganization bankruptcy on Dec. 30. The carrier has said it lost about $24 million for all of 2004.

Developer to build Makakilo homes

A developer plans to build 47 single-family and duplex condominium units in Makakilo, with prices starting at $490,000.

The homes at Hoolu Landing are being offered to owner-occupants through April 25. The developer, Hoolu Landing LLC, bought 13.1 acres next to Makakilo Community Park for $400,000 in August.

The homes will be ready in late 2005 or early 2006. The community is being designed by KY International Inc. and brokered by Towne Island Homes Ltd.

Broadband iTV hires new chief

A former vice president of sales for Qwest Communications International Inc., the No. 4 U.S. local-telephone carrier, has been named chief executive of Broadband iTV, a local start-up maker of interactive television software.

Eric Tom, who is based in Menlo Park, Calif., will lead the company's expansion into domestic and foreign markets. He has previously worked for Pihana Pacific, Long Distance USA and Deloitte & Touche.

Broadband iTV launched in October 2002 in partnership with Time Warner Cable in Hawaii.

REFLECTIONS ON DEVELOPMENT

FL MORRIS / FMORRIS@STARBULLETIN.COM
Reflections fill glass windows on the side of Hokua, a residential high-rise under construction along Ala Moana Blvd., next to Ward Centre. The reflections are of another high rise under construction next to Hokua. The glass outer skin of the building is partially completed.

Hawaiian Air has fullest planes

Hawaiian Airlines outpaced the industry average in filling its seats during February, leading the nation's air carriers with a load factor of 83.7 percent.

Joining Hawaiian Airlines in the top five were JetBlue, 83.3 percent, Spirit, 79.2 percent; Northwest Airlines, 77.6 percent; and America West, 75.6 percent.

The industry average during the month was 72 percent.

Construction scholarships offered

Full scholarships for native Hawaiians to receive an education in the construction industry are available though the Construction Training Center of the Pacific and the Office of Hawaiian Affairs.

The Project Aloha Scholarship Program is available for attending pre-apprenticeship and continuing education courses at the training center. Applications are available at www.constructiontraining.org.

VeriSign could retain control over '.net'

NEW YORK >> VeriSign Inc. is poised to run the Internet's third most popular suffix for the next six years despite concerns the company already exerts significant control over how people send e-mail and find Web sites.

Telcordia Technologies Inc., the outside firm selected to evaluate bids to operate ".net" directories, recommended late yesterday that the incumbent VeriSign be given a contract renewal.

If approved, a new contract would generate about $20 million annually for VeriSign, which already makes more than $200 million a year managing ".com."

Owners of ".net" domain names could see lower prices when they renew as VeriSign pledged fee reductions.

Though most other Internet users should not see any immediate changes, the company that runs the directories ultimately influences whether people can send e-mail and reach the Web sites they are seeking.

Technical failures in the directories, for instance, could leave a large portion of the Internet inaccessible because computers can't find one another.

Qwest demands answer from MCI

Qwest Communications International Inc., the No. 4 U.S. local-telephone carrier, gave MCI Inc. until a week from today to accept its $8.45 billion takeover offer, seeking to end a six-week battle for the company.

The offer will be withdrawn if MCI doesn't agree to it by midnight April 5, Qwest Chief Executive Officer Richard Notebaert wrote in a letter to MCI directors.