AT&T cell-phone use disrupted

Some AT&T customers in Honolulu had their service disrupted yesterday as the cell-phone provider dealt with an equipment issue.

“;Customers may be experiencing interruptions,”; said Erika Ulring, an AT&T spokeswoman, who also apologized for the problem.

Technicians had not resolved the issue by late afternoon yesterday. For an update, contact customer service at 1-800-331-0500 or send a tweet to the customer service representative at twitter.com/ATTNews.

First Insurance Co. adds coverage

A subsidiary of First Insurance Co. of Hawaii has signed exclusive agreements with Lloyd's and Axiom Insurance Managers to provide coverage for earthquakes, terrorism and bars and nightclubs.

“;We continually look at ways to enhance service to our customers and agents, and our recent agreements help us achieve that,”; said Allen Uyeda, president and chief executive officer of First Insurance. “;We are pleased with the broad authority granted to us by Lloyd's and our expansion into niche areas of liability insurance with Axiom as these agreements ultimately will translate into better and more competitive options for the businesses and people of Hawaii.”;

First Insurance Co. of Hawaii, which is nearly a century old, had assets totaling $608 million and liabilities of $398 million through September.

Aloha expands ethanol-free gas sites

Aloha Petroleum, the state's second-largest gasoline marketer, is now offering ethanol-free gasoline in Kahaluu to cater to customers who use the fuel for their boats, older cars and lawn mowers.

“;We wanted to make it convenient for them to fill up with 89-octane fuel, which won't clog carburetors or damage marine fuel tanks, said Richard Parry, Aloha Petroleum's president and chief executive officer.

Aloha Petroleum began offering ethanol-free gas in early 2007 after boaters began reporting problems with running the blended gasoline in their marine engines. The company also sells ethanol-free gas at the Aloha Petroleum 7-Eleven store on Farrington Highway and at Mountain View Gas & Co. on the Big Island. Customers can search http://www.alohagas.com for a compete listing of locations that sell Aloha Classic Gas.

Mesa Air pares financial obligations

Mesa Air Group, the 75 percent owner of go! Mokulele Airlines, said it has reached an agreement with AAR Corp. to modify certain maintenance support agreements for Mesa's CRJ-200 and ERJ-145 aircraft fleet, as well as an agreement to retire Mesa's senior convertible notes due in 2023.

The parties have agreed to certain amendments to the parts and maintenance agreements that allow Mesa to reduce monthly fees paid under the agreements as the number of aircraft in Mesa's CRJ-200 and ERJ-145 fleets are decreased.

AAR also has agreed to exchange its 2023 notes with an aggregate principal amount at maturity of $6.1 million for 15 million shares of the company's common stock.

On the Move

Prudential Locations has announced the following new hires:

» Mark Buck as a commercial real estate agent. He has more than 23 years' experience in retail, industrial and office sales and leasing and previously worked at Commercial Real Estate Services Inc.

» Brenda Mahoney as a real estate agent. She has more than 22 years' experience in the field.

» Russell Quidilla as a real estate agent. He worked previously at Abe Lee Realty.

» Richard Warren as a real estate agent. He worked previously at Prudential California.

» Yun Yi as a real estate agent. She worked previously at Keller Williams Realty.