Air Canada said Wednesday it will launch seasonal service to Kauai with its new Boeing 737 MAX-8 fleet this winter and also will double the frequency of its flights from Western Canada to Hawaii.
The new Vancouver-Kauai service will be Tuesdays, Thursdays and Saturdays and will run from Dec. 15 through April 27.
Air Canada also provides flights from Vancouver to Honolulu, Maui and Kona and from Calgary to Maui. The carrier will have 41 weekly flights to Hawaii next winter.
Amazon chasing Medicaid users
NEW YORK >> Amazon has taken another step to woo low-income shoppers to its site and away from rival Walmart.
The online retailer opened its discounted $5.99-a-month Prime membership on Wednesday to people on Medicaid, giving it an even bigger pool of potential shoppers who may otherwise have been unable to pay the standard fee.
Since June, Amazon has offered the same Prime discount to people using food stamps or other government assistance through an Electronic Benefit Transfer card. Adding Medicaid recipients makes Prime, and its expedited shipping for no extra cost, accessible to more people, Amazon said.
Nearly 70 million people are enrolled in Medicaid, which provides health coverage to low-income people and those with disabilities.
To apply for the discounted Prime, Medicaid recipients need to take a photo of their Medicaid card and upload it to the site. The $5.99-a-month price compares to the regular $12.99 pay-by-month option and is nearly $30 cheaper than the $99 annual-fee plan.
ON THE MOVE
>> The Queen’s Medical Center has announced that Dr. Daniel Cheng is the new medical director of the Queen’s Care Coalition. He is also serving as the assistant chief of The Queen’s Medical Center Emergency Department. Cheng did his residency in emergency medicine at USC-Los Angeles County Hospital in 2013.
>> The Honolulu Japanese Chamber of Commerce has awarded Jason Ito an Outstanding Member of the Year award. Ito is the director of Kyo-ya Management Company. He serves as the vice chair of HJCC and has been a 10-year member.
