The union representing Hawaiian Airlines pilots voiced its opposition to Hawaiian's request to line up short-term leases of aircraft and crews in case it is unable to negotiate favorable lease terms from Boeing Capital Corp.

The Air Line Pilots Association International says the new leases would be a violation of Hawaiian's labor agreement.

Hawaiian, which filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection last month, has asked for court approval to negotiate alternative leases. A hearing on Hawaiian's motions was scheduled for today.

According to the pilots, their contract generally requires that all revenue flying be performed by Hawaiian pilots, which prevents the airline from subcontracting flight operations to another airline.

Deadline nears for technicians

Twenty Verizon Hawaii technicians on O'ahu and Maui have until mid-May to decide whether to accept "enhanced" early-retirement packages or face the possibility of layoffs by the end of May.

The early retirements are an attempt to avoid layoffs for members of the International Brotherhood of Electrical Workers, Local 1357, Verizon spokeswoman Ann Nishida said.

In October, Verizon eliminated 72 other positions through similar retirement packages. In February, Verizon also notified the state Public Utilities Commission that it will stop providing telecommunications relay services for the hearing- and speech-impaired. The end of the relay services affects 15 employees.

Fed says war hard on state

In its latest economic outlook report, the Federal Reserve Bank's San Francisco district said Hawai'i's domestic and international tourism was improving, but the overseas tourist count was below expectations and has yet to fully recover from the post-9/11 downturn.

The San Francisco district, which covers nine western states including Hawai'i, said travel- and tourism-industry sources said the Iraq war's adverse effects would more than offset any gain from the weakening dollar. A weak dollar allows visitors such as Japanese tourists to stretch their money further.

Robust sales of low- to medium-priced homes continue in Hawai'i, the Fed said.