Hawaiian Airlines, a partner airline of Virgin Australia, operates three different aircraft types: The Airbus A330, Airbus A321neo and Boeing 717. All of these aircraft feature two separate cabins.
On Hawaiian Airlines, Economy Class sold as “Main Cabin”. The premium cabin is sold as “Business Class” on international flights, including the Sydney-Honolulu and Auckland-Honolulu routes. On domestic flights within the USA, Hawaiian markets the superior cabin as “First Class”.
There is no actual difference in the seats or service between Business and First Class on Hawaiian Airlines. They are also treated the same for the purpose of earning and redeeming HawaiianMiles or Virgin Australia Velocity points.
If booking Hawaiian Airlines Business or First Class, you’d want to select an Airbus A330 flight where possible in order to get a lie-flat bed.
Here’s a full overview of Hawaiian Airlines premium cabin seating options…
Hawaiian Airlines Airbus A330-200 Business/First Class seats
Hawaiian Airlines flies Airbus A330-200s on on all international flights except Honolulu-Rarotonga (launching in May 2022). The largest aircraft type in Hawaiian’s fleet, it’s also used on selected routes between Hawaii and mainland USA including Honolulu-Los Angeles, Honolulu-Boston and Honolulu-New York.
The A330 has three rows of Business/First Class in a 2-2-2 layout. All of the leather seats recline into fully lie-flat beds, and there are fold-out TV screens available at each seat.
These seats are great for couples. But for those travelling solo, there is a privacy divider that can be raised between seats. Unfortunately, there is no direct aisle access available from the window seats.
Hawaiian Airlines does not offer wifi on this or any of its other aircraft types.
Hawaiian Airlines A321neo First Class seats
The Hawaiian Airlines Airbus A321neo is mainly used on routes between Honolulu, Kahului, Lihue or Kona and the US west coast. It will also be used on the Honolulu-Rarotonga service, with the up-front seats sold as “Business Class”.
There are four rows of reclining leather First Class seats on the Hawaiian Airlines A321neo in a 2-2 layout, for a total seat count of 16. The seat pitch is around 39 inches.
In-flight entertainment is available via streaming to your personal electronic device. Alternatively, Hawaiian Airlines does offer tablets to First Class passengers which can be attached to the seat in front.
Hawaiian Airlines Boeing 717 First Class seats
Flown on inter-island routes, the Hawaiian Airlines Boeing 717 has two rows of First Class seating in a 2-2 layout. These seats are slightly narrower and older than the First seats on the A321neo, although it doesn’t really matter as this aircraft only operates short flights.
There is no in-flight entertainment on the Hawaiian Airlines 717. But as you’ll be flying between the beautiful Hawaiian islands, we’d suggest choosing a window seat and simply enjoying the view outside!
The best seats are 2A and 2F, which have great window views and more space to stretch your legs out than the seats in row 1 which are behind a bulkhead.
You can read a trip report covering the Hawaiian Airlines inter-island First Class service here.
