Hawaiian to add 18 flights to Brisbane

Hawaiian Airlines, which is launching three-days-a-week service to Brisbane, Australia, on Nov. 27, said Wednesday it will add 18 additional flights during the spring.

Of the additional flights, 10 will be in March, four in April and four in May. Hawaiian said the special flights coincide with its getting new Airbus A330-200s that will free its Boeing 767-300s for the expanded service.

"We are delighted with the strong demand for our service from Australia, in particular from the Queensland market," Hawaiian Chief Commercial Officer Peter Ingram said. "With additional aircraft capacity now becoming available between March and May, we have the added opportunity not only to increase the number of seats on the Brisbane route during this period, but also to explore some different schedule options for the future."

The 18 special flights will add more than 4,700 new air seats to the Australia-Hawaii travel market. Hawaiian also offers daily service between Honolulu and Sydney.

American Savings ‘psychologically healthy’

American Savings Bank has been named the 2012 Psychologically Healthiest Workplace by the Hawaii Psychological Association. American also won the award in 2010 among companies with more than 1,000 employees.

The Hawaii Psychological Association, the local chapter of the American Psychological Association, presents the award to organizations that make the mental and physical health and safety of employees a top priority as measured across five key areas: health, safety and security; family support; employee involvement; community service; and career development. The nomination process combines a written survey with an in-depth personal interview with each company.

American’s LifeBalance program is designed to offer something for every employee by promoting physical, psychological and financial health for employees and their families. American offers onsite massage therapy and fitness classes, cooking classes, hiking clubs, community outreach programs and special workshops on everything from cholesterol management to self-defense to long-term care.

The program also incorporates team sports including golf, tennis, softball and basketball as well as annual health fairs on every island for employees and their families.

Fed cites moderate growth, takes no action

WASHINGTON » Two weeks before a U.S. election focused on the economy, the Federal Reserve said Wednesday that its help is still needed to increase growth and lower unemployment.

The Fed took no action after a two-day policy meeting. It wants time to assess whether the aggressive steps it launched in September will help the economy.

Last month, the Fed began buying mortgage bonds to try to push long-term interest rates lower and make home buying more affordable. It also said it planned to keep its benchmark short-term rate near zero through mid-2015.

U.S. new-home sales highest in 21⁄2 years

WASHINGTON » Sales of new homes in the U.S. jumped last month to the highest level in more than two years, further evidence of a sustained housing recovery that could help lift the lackluster economy.

The Commerce Department said Wednesday that new home sales rose 5.7 percent in September to a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 389,000. That’s up from a rate of 368,000 in August and the highest rate since April 2010, when a federal homebuyer tax credit inflated sales.

Sales have risen 27.1 percent in the past year. That’s the strongest yearly gain since February, although sales are still well below healthy levels

Delta profit surges on fuel contract gains

NEW YORK » Delta Air Lines said Wednesday that its third-quarter profit nearly doubled mostly due to the increasing value of its fuel contracts.

The world’s second-largest airline earned $1.05 billion, or $1.23 a share, compared with $549 million, or 65 cents, a year earlier. Excluding one-time items, it earned $768 million, or 90 cents a share — just shy of Wall Street expectations of 91 cents.

Revenue rose 1 percent to $9.92 billion, also just under analysts’ estimate of $9.93 billion, according to FactSet. The Atlanta-based airline says revenue was driven by its effort to trim seats according to demand. As it scaled back capacity, flights were slightly fuller.

ON THE MOVE

Bank of Hawaii has promoted Sharon Crofts to vice chairwoman of operations and technology. Before joining the bank, Crofts was a senior vice president in charge of business banking and commercial deposits at Pacific Century Bank.

Retail Merchants of Hawaii will present Brian Halsey the "2012 Retailer of the Year Ho‘okela" award. Halsey has served as the Hawaii market manager for Walmart since 2006.

Events International has appointed Maleko McDonnell as its director of marketing. His experience includes online promotion and communications.

SHIFTING GEARS

Isles’ Cutter in contention for Dealer of the Year award

Honolulu-based auto dealer Marc Cutter is among 57 nominees for Time magazine’s Dealer of the Year award.

Cutter, a second-generation dealer, is president of Cutter Chrysler Jeep Dodge Ram in Honolulu and will be honored along with the 56 other nominees at the 96th annual National Automobile Dealers Association Convention & Exposition in Orlando, Fla., on Feb. 9.

Nominees are selected based on their successful businesses as well as a long-standing commitment to community service.

Cutter has long contributed to local schools, sports organizations and volunteer programs.

Deer here need not fear as drivers often steer clear

Hawaii drivers are the least likely in the U.S. to have a confrontation with a deer, according to an annual study by State Farm insurance.

At 1 in 6,801, the odds of a Hawaii driver colliding with a deer in the next 12 months "are approximately equal to the odds that any one person will be struck by lightning during his or her lifetime," the company said.

West Virginia is the state with the highest likelihood of a driver running into a deer, for the sixth year in a row.

Subaru Hawaii raises funds for nonprofit organizations

Subaru Hawaii will donate $250 for every new vehicle sold from Nov. 1 through Dec. 31 in its "Share the Love" event.

Proceeds will benefit five local nonprofits: Big Brothers Big Sisters Hawaii, Hawaii Wildlife Fund, Oahu SPCA, SPCA Maui and Hawaii Island Humane Society.

Subaru Hawaii dealerships also invite the public to "Share the Love" Day from 11 a.m. to 2 p.m. Dec. 1 for activities that also will benefit the nonprofits.

The company invites social media users to vote for their favorite participating nonprofit through the Subaru Hawaii Facebook page at www.facebook.com/ SubaruHI. The organization with the most "likes" at the end of the promotional period will receive an additional $5,000.