Instagram posters favor Hilton in Waikiki

Instagram posters favor Hilton in Waikiki

Hilton Hawaiian Village is the only Hawaii hotel property among the 10 most photographed hotels on Instagram, a social media site.

Instagram released a list of its most photographed hotels and resorts to Conde Nast Traveler on Thursday.

The travel site presented the hotels in a slide show, with only some of the properties numbered, so it was unclear whether the properties were presented in ranked order.

Nevertheless the Waikiki property was displayed at what would have been No. 6, after the Titanic Deluxe Hotel Belek in Turkey; Tokyo Disney Resort; Plaza Hotel in New York, labeled as No. 8; and No. 7, Hotel del Coronado in San Diego.

Following the Hilton’s appearance in the slide show were No. 5, Atlantis Resort at Paradise Island in the Bahamas; Ushuaia Ibiza Beach Hotel in Spain; Atlantis the Palm in Dubai, United Arab Emirates; No. 2, the Fontainebleau Miami Beach, Fla.; and Universal Orlando Resort, also in Florida.

The slide show can be found at bit.ly/1IsLFFK Opens in a new tab.

E. coli outbreak fogs up Chipotle’s outlook

NEW YORK >> Chipotle said Friday that an outbreak of E. coli linked to its restaurants sent sales plummeting by as much as 22 percent in recent weeks and that it could no longer reasonably estimate sales for next year.

The Denver-based chain said in a regulatory filing that sales trends have been “extremely volatile” since it closed restaurants in Oregon and Washington state in early November as a result of the outbreak.

For the final three months of the year, it said it expects sales to be down 8 to 11 percent at established locations if trends continue. Earnings are also expected to fall to between $2.45 and $2.85 per share for the quarter. That’s down from last year’s $3.84 per share.

Chipotle’s stock slid more than 7 percent in after-market trading. Its shares have dropped 25 percent since mid-October.

Before rescinding its outlook Friday, the company had expected sales for 2016 to rise in the low-single digit percentages.

Earlier in the day the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention said the outbreak had expanded to nine states, with a total of 52 reported illnesses. That was up from the six states and 45 illnesses as of late November.

Airlines push for hiring pilots with fewer hours of flight

U.S. regional airlines are preparing to ask the government to loosen 2013 pilot safety restrictions they say have unnecessarily caused a shortage of qualified flight crews.

The airlines, which perform about half of all air-carrier flights under contract to mainline operators, want to be able to hire pilots with fewer than 1,500 hours of flight time, according to the Regional Airline Association, their Washington trade group.

Just as regulations now allow pilots to qualify for the airlines with fewer hours after academic or military aviation training, the association wants to be able to hire pilots with less experience if they complete specialized training focusing on high-performance aircraft and airline operations, according to a draft of the group’s proposal.

“We agree wholeheartedly that first officers ought to be more experienced,” Faye Malarkey Black, president of the association, said in an interview. “Where we disagree is that you can use hours as a metric for experience.”

Regional carriers seeking pilot candidates have found that they often gain hours performing jobs such as flight instruction. While that has some value, it doesn’t help teach many of the skills required for airlines, Black said.

The changes sought by the group are still being finalized and it hasn’t decided how to propose them, she said. They must eventually go before the Federal Aviation Administration, which regulates the aviation industry.

The current 1,500-hour requirement was prompted by concerns over pilot performance in the last fatal accident involving a U.S. airline, the Colgan Air crash near Buffalo, N.Y., on Feb. 12, 2009. Pilots on that flight misunderstood a relatively benign cockpit warning and lost control, crashing into the ground and killing all 49 on the plane and a man on the ground.

Porsche to develop electric car by decade’s end

Porsche has committed to making its first all-electric vehicle, taking on Tesla Motors Inc. with a model that’s set to accelerate faster than the German company’s 911 sports car and recharge in 15 minutes.

Porsche greenlighted a 1 billion euro ($1.09 billion) project to produce the battery-powered sports car, which will be manufactured near division headquarters in Stuttgart and create 1,000 jobs, the Volks­wagen AG unit said Friday in a statement. The model, based on the low-slung Mission E concept unveiled in September at the Frankfurt auto show, will enter showrooms at the end of the decade, it said.

“With Mission E, we are making a clear statement about the future of the brand,” Chairman Wolfgang Porsche said in the statement. “Even in a greatly changing motoring world, Porsche will maintain its front-row position with this fascinating sports car.”

The step is part of efforts by Volkswagen, Europe’s largest automaker, to move beyond a scandal over rigged emissions tests. Chief Executive Officer Matthias Mueller, who ran Porsche until late September, has vowed to accelerate and widen development of electric cars amid a reorganization that delegates more decision-making to the Volkswagen group’s brands and regional units.

JEM Raw issues nut butter recall

A Bend, Ore., company is issuing a nationwide voluntary recall of its nut butter spreads because they could be contaminated with salmonella.

The recalled products were distributed in retail stores and through mail order between June and November. JEM Raw is working with distributors and retailers to remove the products from shelves.

Consumers should discard any product and its container. The company says it will work directly with each customer to replace the product.

Ship Ahoy!

Today’s ship arrivals and departures:

Calendar

Thursday, Dec. 10

>> Exchange Club Meeting: Pam Chambers, a professional speaking and presentation coach, will share tips from her profession. Noon- 1:30 p.m. at Oahu Country Club. Cost: $25. Visit dexhon.com.

Thursday and Friday, Dec. 10 & 11

>> Hawaii Life Real Estate Brokers: The “Unconference” workshop, with the theme “Talk Story,” will explore the power of storytelling and listening in business. Featured speaker: Henk Rodgers, visionary philanthropist. Other speakers include Brad Inman of Inman News; Mike Robbins, author of “Nothing Changes Until You Do”; and actor Derek Miller. Workshop will be held at Andaz Maui Wailea. Cost: $800 plus $33.95 fee. For more information or to register, visit worthshops.com.

Dec. 29

>> 16th Annual Holiday Tech Job Fair: The High Technology Development Corp. hosts exhibitors from tech, software, web and medical industries and offers an opportunity for Hawaii job seekers to network with high growth companies and innovative startups, 5-7 p.m. at the Japanese Cultural Center’s Manoa Grand Ballroom. Networking reception: 6-8 p.m. Free and open to the public. Visit techjobshawaii.org.

Coming Up

>> Monday, Dec. 7: Federal Reserve releases consumer credit data for October.

>> Tuesday, Dec. 8: Labor Department releases job openings and labor turnover survey for October.

>> Wednesday, Dec. 9: Commerce Department releases wholesale trade inventories for October.

>> Thursday, Dec. 10: Labor Department releases weekly jobless claims. Mortgage company Freddie Mac releases weekly mortgage rates.

>> Friday, Dec. 11: Commerce Department releases retail sales data for November.