Hawaiian Airlines Inter-Island First Class

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I recently flew on Hawaiian Airlines in "First class" between Honolulu and Kona. I thought I would write a quick trip report about the Hawaiian inter-island experience.

Most inter-island flights take only around 30 minutes. For such a short flight, I wouldn't usually pay extra to fly in a premium cabin. But allow me to explain why I paid to fly in the pointy end in this instance. Firstly, the cost was only around $50 more than a regular Economy ticket. The difference is even less if you have checked baggage. Checked baggage costs $25 extra if you’re in Economy, while it’s complimentary for First passengers. Since I had to check a bag in anyway, the difference was only really $25 or so per sector.


So, what do you actually get in Hawaiian inter-island First class? The honest answer is not a whole lot, but you do get a larger seat with more legroom, a complimentary drink on-board and lounge access. There's one more thing that may be of benefit to some people: if crediting the flight to Virgin Australia, you also get Business/First class status credits. That means earning 40 Velocity status credits per sector, instead of 10. In my mind, ~$50 for an extra 30 status credits is pretty good!

The hard product

Hawaiian Airlines operate a fleet of 2-class Boeing 717 aircraft for inter-island flights.

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First class consists of two rows in a 2-2 configuration at the front of the plane. These comfortable, spacious leather seats have about 38 inches of seat pitch.

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The legroom in row 1:

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Behind the two rows of First was a curtain, though it was never closed.

There is no toilet at the front of the plane, so First passengers were instructed to head to the rear of the aircraft.

Economy is in a 2-3 configuration:

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The soft product

All First class passengers were given a complimentary drink and a couple of biscuits on the flight to Kona. My coffee was served in a paper cup.

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That was all that was on offer for the short flight – there was definitely no "meal" service. There was also no in-flight entertainment in either class, other than magazines in the seat pockets. One thing that was offered, however, was maps and tourist information – which was appreciated.

On the return flight (in the evening) I was again offered a free drink, though I just had water. This came with a small bag of rice crackers.

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The service from the cabin crew on both legs was very friendly, and I felt the "alohas" we're genuine. I have no complaints about the crew.


I would have liked to get some a little more substantial to eat on both flights. I know the flights are short, but if Qantas can manage to serve a meal in Business class on the Sydney to Canberra runs, then surely Hawaiian could offer a simple sandwich, wrap or something else on their inter-island flights.

At the airport

There was no queue for checking in at the First/Premier counter in Honolulu, but it took a bit of time as I made an apparently unusual request. I was not able to add my Virgin Velocity frequent flyer number to the booking online, either at the time of booking or when checking in. So, I asked the lady to add it when I checked in at the airport. I thought it would be a simple request, but not so. Firstly, the lady had not heard of Virgin Australia and asked if I meant Virgin Atlantic. Secondly, she had to call over a colleague to show her how to actually do it.


Eventually they worked it out and I headed to the departures area and to the Hawaiian Premier Lounge. It was closed. It was around 7am at that point and there was a sign on the door saying the lounge would open at 9am.


Boarding was called around 25 minutes before departure. Priority boarding worked a treat and I was one of the first on board.

The return flight was much the same as the first one, except that it was an evening flight and the lounge at Kona Airport was open.


There wasn’t much in the small lounge, but there was free wifi, a TV and a small range of non-alcoholic drinks (tea, coffee, water and soda). The thing I actually enjoyed the most about the lounge was the fact that it was air-conditioned. Almost all of Kona Airport is outdoors, and it was a warm evening.

Hawaiian lounge in Kona:

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A few other comments

Both flights ran on time. In fact, the return flight arrived about 20 minutes ahead of schedule.

Also, if it's a day time flight you may want to pick a window seat. We got to see almost all of the other Hawiian islands en-route to Kona.

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Final thoughts

Honestly, calling this "First class" is probably a bit of a stretch. But with such a small difference in price, I had low expectations and was therefore not disappointed. Both flights were comfortable and pleasant.

Summing up:

Things I liked: Priority check-in, lounge access, complimentary checked baggage (with priority tags), a spacious seat at the front of the plane, friendly service, the extra VA status credits.

Areas for improvement: The lounge was very basic, no in-flight meal service, no in-flight entertainment, had to walk to the back of the plane to use the toilet.

By the way, I am still waiting for the VA points & status credits to post. I suspect I may have to do a missing points claim (again!) but we'll see...

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Thanks for the report. When we went to Hawaii we had a bunch of inter-island flights and before each one got emailed an offer to upgrade to F for $50 each - so it seems like F is hardly ever sold out.

Like you we thought it was a no brainer considering we would have had to pay for luggage otherwise. You wouldn't do it for the lounges (all very small) or the food on board as you discovered, but the priority check-in and boarding are nice and of course the seat is a lot more comfortable.
 
Thanks for the report. When we went to Hawaii we had a bunch of inter-island flights and before each one got emailed an offer to upgrade to F for $50 each - so it seems like F is hardly ever sold out.

Like you we thought it was a no brainer considering we would have had to pay for luggage otherwise. You wouldn't do it for the lounges (all very small) or the food on board as you discovered, but the priority check-in and boarding are nice and of course the seat is a lot more comfortable.

On both flights, I was the only person that had actually booked in the First cabin when I checked the loads a couple of days beforehand. But on both flights, the First cabin had 5-6 people. I suspect they had all upgraded in the 24 hours before the flight.

By the way, you can upgrade at the time of booking or at check-in. You can also upgrade any time before the flight by logging into "manage booking" and changing your flight. There is no change fee applied for changing to the same flight but in First class. The cost should be the same whichever way you book/upgrade.
 
We are flying Hawaiian from Syd to Hnl and wondering what headphone setup they have in economy. Also any reviews - taking the kids so it is cattle class for us
 
Thanks for the review. Everytime Mr Natalie and I have flown inter island we've beensplit and with him usually infront of me, both on the aisle.
 
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We are flying Hawaiian from Syd to Hnl and wondering what headphone setup they have in economy. Also any reviews - taking the kids so it is cattle class for us
You will be given a small amenity pack which contains an eye mask, ear plugs and bud type earphones. The earphones are single plug type and plug into the front of the armrest for the IFE with all of the controls on screen. The full IFE package was complimentary and a fairly good range of movies and tv shows as well as games for the kids. My Bose headphones worked fine.
My wife and I sat in 44 H and J while the three kids sat in 44 C,E and G. No worse or better than any other economy seats other than those you pay more for, (extra comfort).
Outbound meals were a snack shortly after take off and a hot breakfast a few hours before landing and on return it was a hot lunch shortly after takeoff and a sandwich snack later in the flight. Drinks were complimentary but hard to get. We flew out a few weeks back and returned Sunday just gone.
 
...By the way, I am still waiting for the VA points & status credits to post. I suspect I may have to do a missing points claim (again!) but we'll see...

Last year I had the HA check in agent add my VA number and reprint the boarding passes for myself and Jnr. It didn't seem to make any difference though, as I had to retro claim for all of them.
 
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