Singapore Airlines said Tuesday it plans to use Boeing’s Connexion aerial Internet service on all of its long-haul flights starting in late 2004. The Boeing Co. said it will install the service on 40 of the airline’s 747s and 777s, though Singapore Airlines’ letter of intent includes options for more installations. In addition to providing Internet and e-mail access, the Connexion system allows passengers to view up to a dozen television channels.
A new report by the U.S. General Accounting Office describes actions taken by 13 health care organizations and insurers, including Premera Blue Cross, to provide better service and reduce costs. In the case of Mountlake Terrace-based Premera, the report cites the insurer’s investment in a range of technology systems. Among other things, Premera’s technology can give physicians continuously updated drug lists on their personal digital assistants, provide automated health screening reminder calls to patients, and convert paper claims into electronic documents that can be analyzed by computers.
Amid growing optimism that the holiday season will be cheerier than a year ago, J.C. Penney Co. reported third-quarter profits that beat Wall Street projections. Penney said Tuesday that its net income fell 35 percent in the August-October period, dragged down by disappointing results from its Eckerd drugstore division. But its department store business saw improved sales, and the company overall beat analysts’ expectations. Merrill Lynch projected a rosier view of the holiday season Tuesday, upgrading nine major retail companies.
Workers recently arrested in federal raids have filed a racketeering lawsuit accusing Wal-Mart of conspiring with contractors in a criminal enterprise that violated the civil rights and wage protections of immigrants who cleaned its stores. Wal-Mart spokeswoman Mona Williams said the claims have no merit and the company will seek to have the lawsuit dismissed.
Continuing its aggressive growth in the United States, Hyundai Motor Co. will begin selling a small sport utility vehicle in fall 2004 to compete with popular models from Toyota Motor Corp. and Honda Motor Co. Bob Cosmai, president of Hyundai Motor America, said Tuesday the new vehicle will be called the Tucson and will be smaller than the company’s other SUV, the Santa Fe.
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