Posted on: Friday, April 2, 2004
BUSINESS BRIEFS
Aloha rejected on D.C. flights
Advertiser Staff and news services
The U.S. Department of Transportation rejected an Aloha Airlines application to start twice-a-day, nonstop service to Washington, D.C.'s Reagan National Airport from Orange County, Calif.
Aloha had petitioned for four of the 11 round trip slots at Reagan airport.
The slots went instead to United, Delta, U.S. Airways, America West, Alaska Air, AirTran Holdings Inc., Frontier, Midwest Air and Spirit Airlines.
Kaiser lowers rate-hike bid
Kaiser Foundation Health Plan has asked the state to approve an average 11.7 percent rate increase for 80 percent of its members this year.
Hawai'i's second largest insurer had initially asked for an increase of 14.5 percent, which would have been its biggest hike since 1989.
Last month, Insurance Commissioner J.P. Schmidt denied the request but signaled he would be amenable to a hike of 11.5 to 11.7 percent instead.
The state was concerned that patients would not see immediate benefits from a $3 billion Kaiser program to modernize its medical records system nationally, the company said. The system is expected to be launched by summer.
Bankruptcies drop 12.6%
The number of bankruptcy filings in Hawai'i decreased 12.6 percent during the first quarter of the year, according to the Office of the U.S. Trustee.
The figures show that 833 Hawai'i individuals and businesses filed for bankruptcy during the first three months of this year, down from 953 in the first quarter of 2003.
