This summer I took two inter island flights on Hawaiian Airlines from Honolulu, Oahu,  to Lihue, Kauai. The first segment was in economy class and the final leg was in first class. Enjoy the review of the two flights and the comparison between classes!

Economy Flight!

  • HA 283
  • Honolulu-Kauai (HNL-LIH)
  • July 11, 2018
  • Terminal: 1
  • Gate: A17
  • Departs: 2:50 PM
  • Arrives: 3:34 PM
  • Duration: 44 Minutes
  • Aircraft: B717
  • Seat: 10F (Y)

Hawaiian Airlines uses Terminal 1 at Daniel K. Inouye International Airport (HNL). Just a month before my departure date there was a massive re-branding of the terminals. Luckily the road signs were clear and the Uber driver had no trouble bringing us to the right terminal.

Please note that on June 1, 2018 the Inter-Island Terminal became known as Terminal 1. All North American and International (Asia/Australia) HA flights operate out of Terminal 2 with the rest of the airlines.

There was a $25 charge for checked bags on Inter-Island flights. For flights to North America the baggage fee was raised to $30. All Intentional departures include two free checked bags.

The original gate for the flight was A19. However, it was changed to A17.

IMG_20180712_134847_1IMG_20180712_142253IMG_20180712_142530

Boarding started about 25 minutes before departure. I was in Zone 3 and it was quite busy!

The Boeing 717 is a rare airplane as there are 148 in service. Hawaiian is the second largest operator with more than 20 in their fleet.

B717 HA specs

  • Seating Capacity: 128
  • Seat Configuration (Y): 2-3
  • Recline: 6″
  • Pitch: 29 to 31″
  • 18″W x 15.7″- 18.5”D x 27.5″-29”H

All 20 B717’s interiors were refreshed in 2015 and a new livery refresh program began in 2017.

MVIMG_20180712_143119MVIMG_20180712_143137MVIMG_20180712_143319

IMG_20180712_143253_1

There is an awkward bar which restricts foot space on the window seats. I was sitting in seat 10F.  The 2 seat rows are A & B seats. The 3 seat rows are D, E, and  F.  There is no C. Economy class starts starts on Row 3 and continues until Row 27. For such a short flight the seat was adequate. However, my window was extremely dirty and made for very poor photo opportunities. I appreciated that there was individual air nozzles at each seat. Plenty of overhead space was available and no one had to gate check carry on luggage. Hawaiian provides a small tray table, cannot fit a laptop. The seat back pocket contained the in-flight literature and safety information.

IMG_20180712_143324IMG_20180712_143308IMG_20180712_143529_1IMG_20180712_143452

IMG_20180712_144059

IMG_20180712_145641

Once in the air, flight attendants served a drink and gave out a packet of information about the island. I was very surprised to see a drink service on such a short flight.

MVIMG_20180712_150534IMG_20180712_151231_1

IMG_20180712_151654_2

After landing, I spotted an HA A321-neo en route to LAX. Lihue airport is very small and it was a matter of minutes before our bags made it to the carousel.

MVIMG_20180712_152912_1IMG_20180712_153549

First Class! 

First class was only $100 more on the return leg than economy. First class comes with free checked bags. For us, that was $75 of savings meaning we only paid an extra $25. Flights departing out of Honolulu have higher first class fares.

  • HA 184
  • Kauai-Honolulu (LIH-HNL)
  • July 16, 2018
  • Gate: 4
  • Departs: 6:06 PM
  • Arrives: 6:36 PM
  • Duration: 30 Minutes
  • Aircraft: B717
  • Seat: 1F (F)

The check in area is completely outside. There was a separate line for first class check in.

IMG_20180716_170336IMG_20180716_170346

IMG_20180716_171731IMG_20180716_171707

After security, turn left to head towards the gates for Hawaiian Airlines. The ticket said boarding was supposed to start at 5:20 but they did not start boarding till 5:50 PM. I was sitting right next to the check in so I could be the first on board. Unfortunately, the inbound flight from Honolulu was delayed. They sent us down the jet bridge at 5:55 PM when the last passenger left the jet bridge.  The crew were still cleaning and had no turn around time as the flight was suppose to be in the air at 6:06 PM.

B717 HA specs: First Class

  • Seating Capacity: 128
  • Recline: 11″
  • Pitch: 37″
  • Seating configuration: 2-2
  • 19″H x 18″W x 28″L

IMG_20180716_175321IMG_20180716_175354_2IMG_20180716_175323IMG_20180716_180356

All eight seats in first class were occupied. Flight attendants did a wonderful job. They were super chatty and we talked for the entire flight, except during service. They proactively offered refills! My only complaint about this flight was the windows were dirtier than the last flight. I could not even get good photos! My seatmate was very nice and she frequently traveled on Hawaiian Airlines for her job. Even with the hectic schedule our flight was on time.

Comparison

Economy is a pleasant experience on Hawaiian for inter island flights. Drink service on a flight under 1 hour is awesome! Plus I enjoyed the Boeing 717 large overhead bins. Honolulu airport is not a pleasant airport experience. I wish I had first class out of Honolulu to take advantage of priority check in.  Buying first class to access the lounge in Honolulu does not make sense. Instead, use Priority Pass to access the Plumeria lounge for free! To read about the lounge click here 

I would not pay for first class unless it make sense with baggage fees. For example, if the first class was $50 more it would make sense because checking a bag costs $25. However if the fares are significantly higher or you travel carry on only then it does not make sense. Economy is pretty comfortable so I do not see first class being necessary.

Be careful when flying out of Honolulu or other busy islands. Even with TSA Pre-Check security can take forever. Check in can also be a long ordeal.

Conclusion

Hawaiian Airlines was great for inter island flights. The ground experience left a lot to desire. I hope to have the opportunity to experience Hawaiian on a longer flight from the mainland.

global-map-en

However, I hope Hawaiian starts more service to the East Coast. On April 4, 2019, Hawaiian will begin service to Boston Logan. Currently, their JFK flight is the longest domestic route in the US. Boston will overtake that record. Hawaiian expansion into Logan is over due. Their partnership with Jet Blue will feed them plenty of traffic to fill the Airbus 330.  Personally, I believe that Hawaiian should offer service to Chicago O’Hare & Washington Dulles.

Note: Personally, I would say they should offer flights into Washington National but because of the perimeter rule they would need approval from Congress.

For example, I had to take three flights to reach Hawaii.  Granted, I could have driven for an hour to cut out one of the flights. However, American offers their worst planes to Hawaii because they believe it is a leisure market and those customers are less likely to be frequent flyers. Having a layover in either JFK or Logan would be a way better option than taking two or three flights from my state (North Carolina).

Hawaiian has plenty of direct flights from the West Coast and would be a great option for non-stop flights.

Now I just need an excuse to get back to Hawaii 🙂

Hawaii Trip Report

Thanks for reading if you missed previous blogs I will leave the links down below!