• My Blue Hawaiian • Bank of Hawaii and Visa: together again • Bank of Hawaii and Visa: together again • A&B sells Arizona properties for $35.6 million • First Hawaiian statements go digital My Blue Hawaiian • Blue Hawaiian
• My Blue Hawaiian
• Bank of Hawaii and Visa: together again
• Bank of Hawaii and Visa: together again
• A&B sells Arizona properties for $35.6 million
• First Hawaiian statements go digital
My Blue Hawaiian
• Blue Hawaiian Helicopters received the International Star Diamond Award, for outstanding quality and service, from the American Academy of Hospitality Sciences, a Blue Hawaiian press release states. Blue Hawaiian is the only activity company of any kind among the worldwide fraternity of Star Diamond recipients.
The company, founded over 20 years ago by Wisconsin transplants David and Patricia Chevalier, opened up shop on Kaua‘i in 2005.
Princeville concierge honored as island’s best
• Leilani Cabais, concierge at the Princeville Hotel, was named Kaua‘i’s best concierge at the 11th annual Aloha Spirit Awards at Chai’s Island Bistro at Aloha Tower Marketplace last month, a press release states.
Each winning concierge received a Tiffany crystal glass award.
Every year the Aloha Spirit Awards recognize the best concierges in service to the hospitality industry.
Bank of Hawaii and Visa: together again
• Bank of Hawaii recently announced the relaunch of its Visa credit card program, giving personal and commercial customers an alternative to the existing American Express credit card the bank currently offers.
“We are one of few banks that now can offer both Visa and American Express cards,” said Al Landon, chairman and chief executive, in a press release.
The bank stopped offering Visa credit cards in 2001 following the sale of its credit card portfolio to American Express, the release states.
Hawaiian Airlines names new director of labor relations
• Hawaiian airlines named Janis Bumgarner as senior director of labor relations last month, a press release states. She is now responsible for maintaining relationships among Hawaiian’s six labor unions and admnistering the contracts of its largest union group, the International Association of Machinists and Aerospace Workers, Lodges 141 and 142.
Bumgarner worked for 21 years for Hawaiian as a flight attendant and instructor, including a stint as the flight attendant union chair. She left in 1991 to pursue a law career in California and Taiwan.
A&B sells Arizona properties for $35.6 million
• Alexander & Baldwin recently sold two retail centers in Phoenix for a combined price of $35.6 million, an A&B press release states.
“Our value-creation objectives for both of these properties have been achieved,” said Stanley Kuriyama, A&B Land Group chief executive.
A&B’s original purchase decisions both were supported by population growth projections and the expectation of large-scale expansion of the area’s freeway network, said Norbert Buelsing, executive vice president of A&B’s real property development and management subsidiary.
“A&B continues to see opportunities in the Phoenix market,” Buelsing said. “Last year, we purchased Deer Valley Financial Center, in north Phoenix, and we still own Southbank II, an office property located near the airport.”
A&B’s portfolio of commercial properties in Hawai‘i and the Mainland consists of 5.7 million square feet of leasable retail, office and industrial space. A&B owns 90,000 acres of land in Hawai‘i, making it the state’s fourth largest private landowner, the release states. The majority of A&B’s recent acquisition and investment activity has been focused on Hawai‘i, where various A&B development projects are ongoing on O‘ahu, Maui, Kaua‘i and the Big Island.
• A&B Properties also acquired the two-building Preston Park office complex in Plano, Texas for $25 million, a A&B release states. Together, the buildings comprise 198,750 square feet of leasable space near the recently opened Baylor Medical Center.
Major tenants include Pepsi Cola, American Floor Research, Batrus Hollweg International and Advanced Integrated Systems, a subsidiary of Crane Aerospace.
“Plano is served by several major freeways and tollways as well as the Dallas Area Rapid Transit System, and is now ranked as the 11th fastest growing city in the nation,” Buelsing said. “Nearby major corporate headquarters include Frito Lay, JC Penney, Electronic Data Systems, Cinemark Theatres and Dr. Pepper/Seven-Up. The Plano office market has experienced consistent growth and demand for office space and Preston Park is expected to continue to benefit from users desiring the convenience of a low-rise office environment.”
First Hawaiian statements go digital
• First Hawaiian Bank introduced a new, free electronic checking statement, or eStatement, option to become the only bank in Hawai‘i to offer customers both electronic statements and online check images, Don Horner, president and chief executive officer, said in a press release.
The eStatement feature allows the bank’s customers to view their checking account statements online at any time, with enhanced security by delivering their statements through a secured electronic means rather than through the mail. Customers can retrieve eStatements online for up to 12 months, or download their statement to their computer for easy storage, filing and printing.
CheckImageSM is also a free state-of-the-art service that provides bank customers with the ability to view both sides of their canceled checks online at the click of a button.
“These safe, secure options help provide the latest in convenience and security to our valued customers,” Horner said.
