BUSINESS BRIEFS
Horizon Lines hiking surcharge
Advertiser Staff and News Services
Horizon Lines said it will raise its fuel surcharge next month.
Starting Jan. 2, Horizon will increase its surcharge from 13 percent to 15 percent. Horizon said the increase will remain in effect through the first quarter of 2006 or until a "significant trend in fuel costs warrants another adjustment."
The fuel surcharge increase matches that of Matson Navigation Co., which last week announced a surcharge hike effective Jan. 1. Both shipping companies raised their fuel surcharges three times this year, citing higher fuel costs.
US AIRWAYS BEGINS NONSTOPS
US Airways launched its service to Hawai'i yesterday with daily nonstop flights from Phoenix to both Maui and Honolulu.
The scheduled arrival times for Flight 932 to Maui and Flight 920 to Honolulu were 3:20 p.m. and 3:24 p.m. respectively. The return flights from Honolulu and Maui to Phoenix both had a scheduled departure time of 11:59 p.m.
In March, America West is slated to launch daily service between Las Vegas and Maui, add a second daily flight from Phoenix to Honolulu, and add four flights a week from Phoenix to Kaua'i.
HOANA MEDICAL RAISES $10.2M
Honolulu-based medical device maker Hoana Medical has raised $10.2 million from investors to help market and sell its first product, a monitoring system that tracks patients' breathing and heart rate and notifies caregivers in the event of a significant or life-threatening situation.
Hoana Medical says its LG1 Intelligent Medical Vigilance System improves patient safety by providing persistent measurement of vital signs and detecting "bed exit," without touching the patient. It also improves hospital economics by augmenting patient vigilance of the nursing staff, to provide early identification and persistent notification of patients in distress who need help, the company said.
TOURISM OFFICIAL TO JOIN BOARD
Rex Johnson, president and chief executive officer of the Hawai'i Tourism Authority, has been appointed to serve on the U.S. Travel and Tourism Advisory Board.
The board was created in 2003 to advise the U.S. secretary of commerce on the design, development and implementation of an international advertising and promotional campaign to encourage travel to the U.S.
DELL RECALLS 22,000 BATTERIES
WASHINGTON — Dell Inc. recalled some notebook-computer batteries because of the possibility of overheating and potential fire risk, the U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission said yesterday.
The recall affects about 22,000 batteries in the U.S. sold individually and with certain Dell laptop models between Oct. 5, 2004, and Oct. 13, 2005. Dell confirmed the recall and said it will not have any material financial impact on the company.
The recall was triggered by three reports of batteries overheating that damaged a desktop and tabletop and resulted in minor damage to personal items.
