HECO rate increase put into effect

Hawaiian Electric Co. has received authorization from the state Public Utilities Commission to put into effect a recently approved rate increase of 4.7 percent for Oahu customers, effective yesterday.

A typical residential customer using 600 kilowatt-hours a month will see a monthly electric bill increase by $6.48, resulting in a total bill of $140.05.

The rate increase will generate an additional $61 million annually for the company. It follows a commission review of the rate adjustment calculations of the PUC's earlier order.

Go! fills more seats in fewer planes

Mesa Air Group's interisland carrier go! filled 73.9 percent of its capacity last month—a year-over-year increase of 3.5 percentage points—due to flying fewer aircraft than it did in July 2008.

The airline said yesterday its load factor increased from 70.4 percent a year ago after reducing capacity. It had added capacity last year in the aftermath of Aloha Airlines' shutdown.

Passenger traffic fell 5.6 percent to 72,573 last month compared with 76,895 in the year-earlier period. Available seat miles, or one seat transported one mile, fell 11.5 percent to 13.9 million from 15.7 million. Revenue passenger miles, or one paying passenger transported one mile, fell 7.1 percent to 10.2 million from 11 million.

Mokulele sets passenger record

Mokulele Airlines, which began jet service in November, carried a record 48,400 passengers during July while posting an on-time performance of 98 percent. The interisland carrier completed 99.3 percent of its scheduled flights.

Hawaiian offers mainland discounts

Hawaiian Airlines is offering discounted travel to the mainland with a promotion that requires booking interisland flights before 10 a.m. and after 2 p.m.

With “;Mainland Madness,”; one round trip to any island gets a passenger 10 percent off the price of the next mainland ticket. Two round trips knocks off 20 percent, and so on until 10 round trips gets the passenger a free round trip to any mainland city served by Hawaiian.

To be eligible, passengers must be a member of the HawaiianMiles program. The interisland flights earnings period began yesterday and runs through Dec. 31.

Travel and booking period for trans-Pacific flights is through June 15, 2010. The maximum discount is two free round trips between Hawaii and the mainland. More details are available at HawaiianAirlines.com.

Beauty school files for bankruptcy

Big Island Beauty College Inc. of Hilo has filed for Chapter 7 bankruptcy, meaning all its assets will be liquidated.

The college, run by Vincent and Toni Mott, according to its Web site, offered courses toward cosmetology, manicuring and aesthetics licenses and had about 32 students. The Motts launched the trade school in 1998 in Keauhou after realizing there was a need to train students for surrounding resort spas.

The school listed between $100,000 and $500,000 in assets and between $500,000 and $1 million in liabilities.

On the move

Allana Buick & Bers Inc. has announced the following new hires:

» Bradley Smith as project manager and design consultant. He has 16 years of design and project management experience.

» Richard Furst as project manager and design consultant. He has 13 years of design and project management experience.

» Reid Fisher as project manager and design consultant. He has more than 25 years of experience in construction, design and project management.

» Damian Pherigo as a summer intern.

Hawaii Tourism Association has selected President Juergen Thomas Steinmetz to become a member of the U.S. Department of Commerce Export Council for the Pacific and lead the council's tourism subcommittee.