Hawaiian tops U.S. carriers in punctuality

Hawaiian Airlines held its usual spot at the top as the most punctual carrier in the nation.

The state’s largest carrier was first among 12 carriers with 91.6 percent of its flights arriving as scheduled in March, according to data released Tuesday by the U.S. Department of Transportation. The national average was 77.6 percent.

A flight is counted as on time if it arrives less than 15 minutes after its scheduled time.

Hawaiian also had the fewest flight cancellations with a rate of 0.1 percent, or five cancellations out of 6,073 flights.

In other categories, Hawaiian was fifth for both mishandled-baggage reports with 2.31 per 1,000 passengers and for fewest consumer complaints with 0.85 per 100,000 passengers.

And in a category reported on a quarterly basis, Hawaiian was second for the fewest number of passengers involuntarily denied boarding at 0.10 per 10,000 passengers.

Trade expo gets local businesses on base

Local businesses hoping to get their products into the military commissary and exchange systems are encouraged to apply for a booth at the upcoming American Logistics Association Hawaii Expo.

Products must be made in Hawaii, unique to Hawaii or a best-selling national item sold only in Hawaii, according to a statement from show organizer ALA Hawaii.

Booths for the Aug. 20 event are $495, a fee that includes an advance marketing, sales and distribution class in July.

"Each year we are faced with turning away companies because of space limitations. This year the location will accommodate up to 40 additional companies, allowing over 100 exhibitors to participate," said Sharon Zambo-Fan, show chairwoman.

The trade show, which is not open to the public, will be at the Pacific Beach Hotel.

Registration forms are available online at support­hawaiicompanies.wordpress.com or via email to markhonda@hawnsun.com.

S&P 500 briefly tops 1,900 for the first time

NEW YORK » The Standard & Poor’s 500 index is flirting with a new milestone: 1,900.

The index briefly climbed above that level Tuesday before dropping back to close just below it. Still, it set an all-time closing high by a fraction of point.

Stocks have gained as most investors remain optimistic that the economy will start to accelerate this year following a cold winter that stymied growth. First-quarter corporate earnings came in better than expected, giving stocks a lift.

AirAsia to use Interpol to check passports

KUALA LUMPUR, Malaysia » Top Asian budget carrier AirAsia said Tuesday it will become the world’s first airline to check the passports of all its passengers against Interpol’s global database of 42 million stolen or lost travel documents by end of this month.

The disappearance of Malaysia Airlines Flight 370 two months ago revealed a gaping loophole in aviation security when two passengers were found to have boarded the plane with stolen passports. Interpol said it had information on the theft of the passports but authorities hadn’t checked its database.

AirAsia, which is also based in Malaysia, said it will use Interpol’s "I-Checkit" system to screen passports when passengers check in. This will be done for its 600 daily international flights using 100 airports across the region, it said.

AirAsia said no personal data will be transmitted to Interpol other than passport numbers and issuing nation. If there is a positive match against the database, local authorities and Interpol will be notified, it said.

Less than 10 countries do systematic screening of travel documents against the Interpol database. More than 1 billion times last year, travelers boarded planes without their passports being checked against the database, the international police organization says.

ON THE MOVE

King Infiniti of Honolulu hired Jessica White as its customer service coordinator. White previously assisted customers with credit challenges at King Windward Nissan’s special finance department.

Family Programs Hawaii has hired Paulette M. Bethel as its new president and chief executive officer. She will be responsible for sustaining and growing the mission of the social service agency. Prior to joining the nonprofit organization, Bethel founded and led Land on Your Feet, an independent consulting company.

Kaiser Permanente Hawaii has donated more than $70,000 in cash and medical supplies to the Polynesian Voyaging Society’s four-year voyage around the world. PVS’ mission is to perpetuate the skill of traditional Polynesian voyaging and navigating as well as to educate the community on its values of caring for the sea and the land. The second leg of the worldwide voyage will be to depart Oahu for its first international port in Tahiti later this month.