Formerly faithful Boeing customer Hawaiian Airlines has joined the rank of Airbus customers with an order for 12 Airbus wide-bodies.

The aircraft, six A330-200s and six A350-800XWBs, are worth $2.2 billion at list prices.

The airline took options for six additional aircraft of each type.

The twin-aisle planes will replace Boeing 767s in Hawaiian’s fleet beginning in 2012 for the A330s and in 2017 for the A350s.

Hawiian President Mark Dunkerley said the company is talking with leasing companies about bringing in some A330s as early as 2009.

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Though Tacoma’s largest developer, Prium Companies, has yet to make a formal announcement, the company has quietly pulled its eight-story Hanna Heights condominium project off the market.

The company, which has not sold one of the 35 units in the building at Sixth Avenue and Fawcett Street despite a recent upgrade to granite countertops and other upscale amenities, is converting the building to apartments.

Windermere Real Estate agent Julie Sargent, who was attempting to sell the building’s condominiums, said Prium notified her about three weeks ago to halt condominium sales efforts.

Has SeaTac-based Alaska Air Group stock finally gotten its glitter back?

The stock, which is still a long way from its 52-week high of $44.52, hit $25.00 a share today, a gain of 5.26 percent over Tuesday’s close.

The airline holding company, parent of Alaska Airlines and regional carrier Horizon Air, led the airlines group Tuesday rising 8.3 percent to $24.26. That group of stocks rose 3.4 percent on news of falling oil prices.

Several bits of news may be responsible for the Alaska’s revival:

* Major airlines led by Delta are again hiking fares nationwide.

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Delivery flights for new Boeing aircraft typically carry just a few pilots, technicians and airline executives from the Puget Sound plants where the airliners are built to the airline customers’ home base.

But the delivery flight of a Cathay Pacific Boeing 777-300ER planned for Thursday will carry hundreds of thousands of books destined for children in the developing world.

The books on the flight, dubbed Literacy One, were donated by publisher Scholastic Inc.

The book delivery project is a joint venture among Boeing, Hong Kong’s Cathay Pacific, Scholastic Inc. and the charitable group Room to Read.

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A Tacoma technology company and the American Legion have launched a joint Web site, www.vetjobs.us, to help returning veterans find jobs in the federal government.

The site offers tools to help job seekers find the right career and market their military experience.

Avue is a technology and management consulting company for federal agencies that has been around since 1983.

The new site will be free to all users and will not contain advertising of any kind.

The traditional focus of federal agencies on placement numbers, without regard to the long-term quality of

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We here at the Biz Buzz love blogs. You must too since you are here.

Thursday’s South Sound Technology Conference will focus on blogs and ask the question: How has blogging changed the way we communicate, socialize and take action?

The event will be held at the University of Washington Tacoma Carwein Auditorium (and features some of our bosses who have a lot to say about the value of things like the Biz Buzz. At least we hope they do.)

It is free and open to the public. Topics include blogging the news, notable blogs,

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This from The Associated Press:

Starbucks Corp. says it plans to open a farmer support center in Ethiopia’s capital next year to help growers improve the quality of their coffees and boost production using sustainable practices.

The world’s largest specialty coffee retailer has a similar center in Costa Rica and says the one in Addis Ababa will be the first of its kind in Africa.

Earlier this year, Starbucks and the Ethiopian government agreed to work together to promote three of the African nation’s prized specialty coffees.

The licensing, distribution and marketing deal signed in June

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The Daily World in Aberdeen is reporting that Weyerhaeuser Co. has not been able to make a deal with a company who wanted to buy its mothballed Cosmopolis Pulp Mill.

A Weyerhaeuser spokesman said the forest products company is no longer in "exclusive sales discussions" with Zurich-based Charlestown Investments over the mill that closed last year.

"Although we continue to keep the door open to them, we are now evaluating proposals from other parties," Weyerhaeuser spokeswoman Kate Tate told the paper on Monday.

That could open the door to a joint offer made by the Grays Harbor

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