HAWAII

Hawaiian Air passengers up 13.5%

Hawaiian Airlines said yesterday its passenger traffic for December rose 13.5 percent from last year. The carrier hauled 644,538 passengers last month, while recording 652,839 revenue passenger miles, or one paying passenger transported one mile, down 0.4 percent from last year.

Available seat miles, or one seat transported one mile, totaled 821,357, 2.8 percent higher than last December, with a load factor of 79.5 percent, 2.6 percentage points lower than the previous year.

For the year, the carrier reported that its passenger traffic rose 10.7 percent to 7.9 million, revenue passenger miles fell 2.5 percent to 7.9 million, available seat miles increased 3 percent to 9.5 million and its load factor fell 4.7 percentage points to 82.6 percent.

MLP may get new Kapalua lenders

Lehman Brothers Holdings Inc., which failed to provide its portion of funding for construction of the Ritz-Carlton Residences at Kapaulua Bay after filing bankruptcy last fall, is asking U.S. Bankruptcy Court in Manhattan, N.Y., to approve a settlement that would fund the project.

If approved during a Jan. 28 hearing, Central Pacific Financial Corp. would replace Lehman as the administrative agent under the loan. Lehman has agreed to provide $35 million of the $120 million financing. Banks and joint venture partners Maui Land & Pineapple Co. Inc. and Marriott International Inc.'s Ritz-Carlton Development Co. would supply the rest of the funds needed to complete the luxury timeshare and condominium project on Maui.

Lehman, whose original loan commitment was to fund 78 percent of the project, filed for bankruptcy Sept. 15 in New York. At the time of the filing, about $201 million had been funded under the agreement and 80 percent of the project was complete.

Bankoh to upgrade systems

Bank of Hawaii will interrupt electronic service this weekend to upgrade http://www.boh.com and e-Bankoh.

The system upgrade will add new tools such as Google maps for branch locations and other enhancements. Service for http://www.boh.com and e-Bankoh will be interrupted from 10 p.m. to 11 p.m. on Saturday. Bank of Hawaii also will interrupt service for e-Bankoh between 10 p.m. on Saturday and 2 a.m. on Sunday to perform a system upgrade.

The bank's Customer Service Center will remain open 24/7. Bank customers who need assistance with a transaction or have account questions while the system is temporarily unavailable can call 1-888-643-3888 for help. 

Kaiser to award $300,000 grant

Kaiser Permanente Hawaii, in an effort to address underserved health needs in the state, is inviting qualified safety-net providers to apply for a grant of $300,000 over three years ($100,000 per year) in support of programs and activities to reduce health care disparities. One grant will be awarded.

All safety-net organizations and coalitions of safety-net organizations designated as a 501(c) charitable nonprofit by the U.S. Department of Treasury, Internal Revenue Service, are invited to apply.

Programs and activities under Kaiser's $300,000 safety-net grant must address the following areas:

» Improve access to health services;

» Focus on patient-centered care through targeted, innovative approaches;

» Lead to systemic change through outcomes that can be documented and measured.

Collaborative efforts are encouraged.

Interested organizations must submit a letter of intent no later than 4 p.m. Feb. 6. E-mailed or faxed submissions will not be accepted.

Letters of intent (five copies) must be mailed or hand-delivered to: Kaiser Permanente Hawaii, Executive Office, Community Benefit, 2828 Paa St., Honolulu, HI 96819.

Grant application details are available on the Kaiser Web site at http://info.kp.org/communitybenefit/our_communities_6_a.html. Call 432-5777, ext. 1382.