IAM, Hawaiian OK tentative pact

The International Association of Machinists and Aerospace Workers District 141 and Hawaiian Airlines have reached a tentative agreement covering the carrier's 1,500 customer service, reservation, ramp and clerical employees.

The proposed two-year contract, which was announced yesterday, provides wage increases ranging from 3 to 10 percent, freezes current employee health-care contributions, provides an incentive compensation program and enables performance and profit bonuses.

The agreement is subject to a membership ratification vote, with the results to be available after March 25.

Hawaiian Air passenger traffic up

The total number of passengers carried by Hawaiian Airlines in February rose 15.1 percent to 641,067 from the year-earlier period, yet the load factor, or percentage of seats filled, for its interisland and trans-Pacific flights combined decreased 1.2 percentage points to 83 percent from a year earlier, the company said yesterday.

In other traffic measures, the number of revenue passenger miles, or the total miles flown by paying passengers, logged by Hawaiian in February increased by 0.9 percent to 613.8 million miles and the number of available seat miles, one seat transported one mile, increased by 2.4 percent to 739.3 million.

McClatchy eliminating 1,600 jobs

SACRAMENTO, Calif. » Newspaper publisher McClatchy Co. said yesterday it will shrink its work force by an additional 15 percent as it contends with sharply declining revenue amid a deepening recession.

The 1,600 job reductions should help the publisher of The Miami Herald, The Sacramento Bee and other newspapers meet previously announced plans to save up to $110 million over the next year. McClatchy Treasurer Elaine Lintecum said the company likely will exceed that target, but the company did not release a new estimate.

McClatchy Chairman and Chief Executive Gary Pruitt will take a 15 percent cut in his base salary, while other executives will see their pay reduced by 10 percent. Pruitt got a $1.1 million salary in 2007, the last year McClatchy disclosed his pay.