BUSINESS BRIEFS
Aloha second in 'best' categories
Advertiser Staff and News Services
Aloha Airlines had the second-best record in the airline industry for flight cancelations during the month of February.
In the U.S. Department of Transportation's monthly air travel consumer report, Aloha reported that it had 28 flight cancelations in February, or 0.8 percent of all flights that month. That was second to Hawaiian Airlines which had 14 cancelations for the month, or 0.3 percent of all flights. Aloha also had the second-best on-time performance in February behind Hawaiian.
The DOT report doesn't include statistics for go!, the sister company of Mesa Airline, which was 14th for on-time performance.
KAISER WELCOMES MEDICARE PAYOUT
An increase in Medicare payments next year for companies that offer Medicare Advantage programs is welcomed, but won't cover expected increases in medical costs, Kaiser Permanente Hawaii said yesterday. Some insurers have complained the payments aren't keeping up with rising costs.
The Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services late Monday said it is increasing payments to Advantage program insurers by 3.5 percent next year, or more than had been anticipated. Kaiser Permanente Hawaii spokeswoman Lynn Kenton said the increase will help, but it won't cover all of the 7 percent to 8 percent increase in medical costs Kaiser expects, she said.
MAC NUT GROWER NEEDS FILING TIME
Hilo-based ML Macadamia Orchards L.P. requested more time to file its annual report with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission.
The company said it needed extra time to analyze the impact on "previously filed financial statements of an unrecorded liability for severance pay that was assumed on May 1, 2000 in connection with a purchase transaction."
