Hawaiian speeds up Airbus delivery

Hawaiian Airlines is accelerating the scheduled delivery of its new Airbus A330-200 aircraft by nearly two years as it ramps up service to Asia.

The company said yesterday it is moving up delivery to the fourth quarter of 2011 from the original delivery date in the second quarter of 2013.

Hawaiian has announced in recent months that it plans to begin daily nonstop service to Tokyo’s Haneda Airport in November and to Seoul-Incheon Airport in January. The airline initially will operate both routes with its Boeing 767s before shifting to its new A330 aircraft.

"Having recently announced new service to Asia and recognizing that further opportunities for new flights may develop in the next year, we have been fortunate to be able to accelerate the delivery of one of our A330s on very short notice," Hawaiian President and Chief Executive Officer Mark Dunkerley said.

Hawaiian, which already has two A330s in service, plans to take delivery of a third one in November and another one in the second quarter of next year. The accelerated delivery schedule will result in its fifth A330 coming in during the fourth quarter of 2011. Five more A330s are scheduled to be delivered through the first quarter of 2014.

Separately, Hawaiian recently matched go! Mokulele in raising one-way interisland fares to $63 from $58.

Electric car test drives? Wheego!

Green Energy Outlet will be offering test drives of the low-speed Wheego Whip and other electric vehicles from noon to 4 p.m. tomorrow at the company’s office at 575G Cooke St. in Kakaako.

Speakers at the event will be Ron Hansen of Wheego Hawaii, Jeff Mikulina of Blue Planet Foundation, Mark Duda of Hawaii Solar Energy Association, Mark Piscioneri of Pacific Electric Vehicles, Peter Fletter of Sunetric, Mike Leone of HiEV and Peter Rosegg of Hawaiian Electric Co. In addition, Coulomb Technologies Level II ChargePoint Networked Electric Vehicle Charging Stations will be unveiled.

Call Green Energy Outlet at 591-1900 to RSVP for a test drive.

Honolulu lifts Pacific Office revenue

Pacific Office Properties Trust Inc., a West Coast office real estate investment trust, said 80 percent of its revenue last quarter came from the Honolulu market.

A 2.4 percent occupancy boost at Honolulu-based Waterfront Plaza, the trust’s second largest consolidated property, contributed to a total portfolio increase in leasing activity. Approximately 206,100 square feet of new and renewal leases were signed during the quarter.

"Our performance underscores the benefit of our Honolulu-centric portfolio, a geography that continues to outperform the broader markets," said James Ingebritsen, Pacific Office Properties Trust president and chief executive officer.

Travel firms can push isles in Russia

The Hawaii Tourism Association is looking for a company or companies to represent Hawaii during the second largest travel/trade show in Russia.

The association and its partner, eTurboNews, have paid for a corner booth at the Luxury and Leisure Travel Show from Sept. 21-23 in Moscow, and want qualified Hawaii travel professionals to man the booth and share the aloha with prospective travel decision makers in Russia. While Hawaii is getting fewer than 2,000 arrivals annually from Russia, the U.S. Commerce Department reported that it has become the world’s ninth-largest outbound travel market and that the number of Russians traveling to the U.S. is increasing by double digits. For more information, call Juergen Steinmetz at 566-9900 or e-mail thomas@hawaiitourismassociation.com.

ON THE MOVE

Territorial Savings Bank has appointed Gina Elmer as branch manager at its Kapahulu branch, where she will manage the overall day-to-day operations. She joined the bank in 2006 as a relief teller.

Jennifer Y. Du-Yung has become an "Ameriprise Platinum Financial Services" adviser, which was based on her financial services practice in 2010. Out of 10,000 Ameriprise financial advisers, Du-Yung is one of about 1,500 who have achieved this status.

Marriott Resorts Hawaii has named Alejandro Moxey as its new e-commerce senior manager. He is responsible for managing relationships with online travel companies as well as overseeing online advertising campaigns, search engine optimization and consumer media for Marriott.com and MarriottHawaii.com. Prior to joining Marriott, Moxey served as a market manager for Expedia in both Hawaii and Florida.

The Alexander C. Waterhouse Charitable Trust has awarded a grant of $250,000 to Palama Settlement. The donation will be used to help programs that provide services, activities and programs to low-income, at-risk children, adults and families living in Palama and Kalihi.