Hawaiian Airlines says Canada ‘on radar’

Hawaiian Airlines, which in the past two years has expanded to Japan, South Korea and Australia and expressed a strong interest in China, said it sees additional opportunity in North America.

"Canada is another place that we are looking at for future service potentially," Hawaiian Chief Financial Officer Scott Topping said Wednesday at the Dahlman Rose & Company Global Transportation Conference in New York.

He specifically mentioned Toronto, which would mark Hawaiian’s first service to Canada. He also said Boston and Philadelphia are examples of markets "that might be of interest."

Topping also mentioned Beijing, Shanghai and Hong Kong as potential markets in China.

"We’re implementing a growth strategy," he said. "We’re diversifying our business and we’re roughly two times the revenue that we were about five years ago. This strategy and this growth plan serve to give us several important advantages. Focused on Hawaii, we do one thing very well and we’re sticking to that. We’re also growing into regions where the demand for the Hawaii vacation is growing as well."

First Hawaiian redesigns Makiki branch

The Makiki branch of First Hawaiian Bank at 1111 S. Beretania St. has been redesigned and renovated with a tapa motif and island feel in a more spacious environment.

Exact before-and-after square footage figures were not available, but the interior of the bank was rearranged to provide for a straight, rather than L-shaped customer line for teller service, and greater access to personal and business bankers as well as wealth-management officers.

Safe deposit booths were expanded and large-size safe deposit boxes were installed to meet increased customer demand.

The bank remained open during remodeling work over the summer, and has retained its normal hours of operation which include 9 a.m. to 1 p.m. Saturday.

Matson wins magazine’s technology award

Matson Inc. has been honored by CIO magazine with a 2012 CIO 100 award.

Now in its 25th year, the program recognizes entities around the world for excellence in information technology.

This year, Matson was recognized for its multiyear IT initiative, known as miLogistx, designed to support growth for subsidiary Matson Logistics Inc. Other award recipients this year included AT&T Services, IBM and Procter & Gamble.

Matson first won a CIO 100 award in 2010.

U.S. homes selling at faster pace

LOS ANGELES » U.S. homes are taking less time to sell than a year ago, reflecting more homebuyer demand and fewer bank-owned homes and other properties available for sale in some markets.

The National Association of Realtors said Wednesday that the median time a previously occupied home was listed for sale shrank in July to 69 days. That’s down from 98 days in the same month last year.

One-third of the homes purchased in July were on the market for less than a month, while 1 in 5 was on the market for at least six months. A home’s median time on the market has been declining steadily since January, the trade group said.

Between 2004 and 2005, the high-flying years of the housing boom, the median selling time of previously occupied homes was four weeks, NAR said. The supply of homes on the market averaged 4.3 months over the same period.

Safeway plans IPO of gift-card business

PLEASANTON, Calif. » Safeway Inc. said Wednesday that it plans to take its gift card business, Blackhawk Network Holdings Inc., public by the first half of 2013.

The supermarket chain said that it plans to file a registration statement for the public offering of a minority stake in its Blackhawk business. The exact timing of the IPO depends on market conditions. Safeway gave no details on pricing.

Blackhawk sells gift cards at grocery stores, drugstores and other retailers. It also operates the website GiftCardMall.com.

H&R Block posts smaller loss as costs drop

KANSAS CITY, Mo. » H&R Block on Wednesday said its fiscal first-quarter loss narrowed by 39 percent, as the nation’s largest tax preparer cut its spending.

Block stemmed its loss with cost cutting. Its year-ago results also included big charges related to the sale of its former business consulting unit, RSM McGladrey, and a litigation charge.

H&R Block usually reports a loss in its first quarter, when revenue drops after tax season.

ON THE MOVE

The USS Missouri Memorial Association has announced Elliot Mills as a member of its board of directors. He has 20 years of experience in resort management and is currently vice president and general manager of Aulani, a Disney Resort & Spa, Ko Olina, Hawaii.

The AKAMAI Foundation has appointed Benjamin W. Lau as vice chairman of the board and chief executive officer of AKAMAI Capital. He has experience in leverage finance, loan and high yield debt capital markets, investment banking, fixed income trading and workouts and restructurings.

dck worldwide, a parent company of dck pacific construction, has announced

Frank W. Falciani

as senior vice president. He has 40 years of construction experience and was a senior vice president and account manager for Skanska USA Building.