Hawaiian Airlines retains top ranking for punctuality

Hawaiian Airlines maintained its usual No. 1 spot in October as the nation’s most punctual airline.

The state’s largest carrier had 89.7 percent of its flights arrive on time — within 14 minutes of scheduled arrival — according to a monthly report issued Wednesday by the U.S. Department of Transportation. The national average for 12 airlines was 79.9 percent.

In other categories, Hawaiian ranked third for fewest denied passenger boardings with 0.30 per 10,000 passengers, fifth for fewest mishandled baggage reports with 2.07 per 1,000 passengers and eighth for fewest consumer complaints with 1.66 per 100,000 passengers.

Engineering firm to expand in Honolulu

Reston, Va.-based Leidos Engineering LLC, the company that operates the energy efficiency program called Hawaii Energy, is opening an additional office in Honolulu.

Since it began in 2009, Hawaii Energy, which is controlled by the state Public Utilities Commission, has produced or incentivized efficiency upgrades projected to save customers $1.8 billion over the lifetime of the upgrades.

The new office, located in the same building as Hawaii Energy, will work to support utility and electric grid services. The office’s work will include utility renewables and energy storage consulting.

Southwest uses good start to stay on time

DALLAS » For years, Southwest was the most punctual of big U.S. airlines, so its tumble toward the bottom of government rankings for on-time arrivals was stunning.

Southwest officials needed to fix an ill-fated decision to squeeze more flights into the schedule. This summer, they backed off by allowing more time between flights. And they told employees the first flight of the day on every route had to leave on time.

Pensioners may experience benefit cuts

WASHINGTON » Retirees covered by financially troubled multiemployer pensions could soon see their benefits cut under a congressional spending deal to keep the government running.

Architects of the proposal said it was the best way to keep the pension plans viable and benefits flowing to retirees. But it quickly drew fire from some labor unions and AARP, who denounced what they call backroom deal-making that will create hardships for older Americans.

A vote on the overall spending plan was expected before week’s end.

Court reverses decisions on insider cases

NEW YORK » A federal appeals court dealt a blow to the government’s success in insider trading prosecutions Wednesday by reversing two convictions with a decision that also jeopardizes a third — and attempts to further define how far prosecutors can push the law in their quest to clean up Wall Street.

The 2nd U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals overturned the convictions of Anthony Chiasson, of New York, and Todd Newman, of Needham, Mass., finding they were too far removed from inside information to be prosecuted.

In doing so, the three-judge panel criticized the government for a blitz of Manhattan insider trading prosecutions that resulted in over 80 convictions since 2008, citing the "novelty of its recent insider trading prosecutions, which are increasingly targeted at remote tippees many levels removed from corporate insiders." The court said prior cases generally involved tippees directly participating in the passing of secrets.

‘Nut rage’ is latest gaffe by Korean Air elite

SEOUL » When South Koreans heard a Korean Air Lines executive delayed a flight because she was angry at being served macadamia nuts in a bag, there was outrage but no surprise.

For many it was only the latest example of the high and mighty behavior they’d come to expect from the families who make up Korea’s dynastic business elite and dominate the economy. In the headline-hogging incident now dubbed "nut rage," Cho Hyun-ah, the airline’s head of cabin service and daughter of its chairman, ordered a senior crew member off the plane, forcing it to return to the gate at John F. Kennedy airport in New York City.

Amid the storm of criticism, Cho resigned Tuesday as head of cabin service but remained an executive at the airline. That sparked another furor and Cho on Wednesday submitted a letter of resignation quitting all her roles.

Milk surplus prompts wholesale price drop

CHICAGO » Milk is flowing like never before in the U.S., where dairies have expanded output enough to send wholesale prices plunging from an all-time high in September.

Production in the 12 months through October reached 17.08 billion pounds a month on average, up 1.8 percent from the same period a year earlier, as farmers took advantage of high milk prices and low livestock-feed costs, government data show. At the same time, global supplies are expanding with increased output from top producer New Zealand and the European Union, sending U.S. dairy exports in September to a 19-month low.

On The Move

» The USS Missouri Memorial Association has announced that Paul Dyson has been promoted to chief operating officer for the nonprofit organization, which serves as the Battleship Missouri Memorial’s caretaker. Dyson joined the Missouri in 2006 and was previously the vice president of sales and marketing.

» Xerox Hawaii has named Jason Ignacio as its marketing representative. Prior to joining Xerox Hawaii, Ignacio was an authorized independent representative for KumuKit-Hawaii Energy Connection as well as a learning consultant with Cengage Learning in Honolulu.

» The Plaza Assisted Living has hired Christine Kanemaru as director of nursing for The Plaza at Pearl City. Her responsibilities include providing supervision and guidance for the community’s nursing department and assessing and overseeing care programs for each resident at The Plaza at Pearl City.

Ship Ahoy!