We were excited about the new Honolulu Airport terminal at first, but we are still left shaking our heads about what they were thinking.
We were excited about the new Honolulu Airport terminal at first, but we are still left shaking our heads about what they were thinking.
HNL definitely shows signs that it was designed by a committee, and a committee that had never been to an airport!
Thanks for the info.
We haven’t been flying Hawaaian as we had before exclusively, mostly due to their $$ airfare..outer islands..cheaper to use Southwest..but, the last time we were in the new section, it wasn’t impressive.
We hope that they (those in charge) will take comments/suggestions to heart.
I was at the new terminal in June ’23 and thought it was gorgeous. The rest of HNL airport is a mess, old and dilapidated. I’d gladly travel via that new terminal but will do everything in my power to stay away from HNL airport. It’s old, dirty, chaotic, unfriendly employees
Flying home from HNL to PDX last October I talked to an architect.
He said, ” It is the worst airport terminal design he has ever seen!”
The company i worked for helped build it. When i went on a flight last year, initially i liked it. Modern and spacious. Then i went to look for a beer, and something to eat, like I usually do. I was amazed there was nothing, i couldnt beleive it. I ended up getting a snack at the lone convenience store. So at least they have a bar and an expensive restaurant now.
I don’t get this part. Why doesnt the state plan to have vendors, retail, etc in any projects they do. Like the rail, for example, no vendors, no retail, not even bathroom. They could have offered hawaii businesses a chance to have locations and new and popular venues. Hawaaii businesses can add hawaiian culture. Vendors provide income to help fund the project. Vendors provide custimers with something they may need.
One of the main problems is HDOT, they make no effort to hire anyone with an aviation background , from management to engineering and architecture. So many beautiful airports improvement projects popping up all over the country and HDOT hires the same company that produced the failed interisland terminal. Too much nepotism and good old boy politics.
We came through the new terminal in April and agree with your observations. We had some time before boarding our flight, so we back tracked to the garden area on the other end of T1. It is showing its age as well, and there are not enough seats for the number of people wanting to use the garden. I have always felt that the two garden areas are the jewels of HNL! More gardens, less AC, please!
No boarding lane markers at gates . Boarding agent had to line passengers up in chaotic manner because she said airport management didn’t allow airlines to have line markers to guide passengers for boarding. Very unusual.
When the state ran the private developers out in the 80s….they then thought they can develop!
Well, it’s the state…hence, highly over budĝet train to no where, roads falling apart, wooden walls to ‘protect’ them at the capital, no dragstrip for a highly motor head city, (outer islands have dragstrips on state land), Hilo hotels being over charged and falling apart on state land, cement freeways with potholes, and wait. U haven’t seen anything yet,,,close our stadium with no plans or money for a new one. Lots of big ideas. But it will not be done in our lifetimes. I love our islands, but we really need better leadership. Wait….someone needs a gold star for starting the freeway rescue trucks!!! (Mexico had them in the 70s……) thank you!!
This is par for the course when the state builds anything for HNL. Construction companies, unions and politicians are usually the only people who benefit from the inflated costs associated with state projects. These fiascos always lack appropriate planning. Through decades of history, HNL’s constant “additions and improvements” have backfired and caused confusion for residents and visitors. It’s no wonder that HNL has always rated poorly when compared with other U.S. airports. Auwe!
Big Government is always the problem, never the solution. Astronomical waste of money and another sad example of the decline.
No signs for rental cars. my husband and I wandered around for an hour trying to find our rental car. repeat No signs showing you where rental cars are. awful experience need to fix the problem
The food options at All the airports in the State are pitiful.
My wife and I traveled to HNL just before Christmas 2022 and your report is spot on. We both have bad knees and the distance between our gate and baggage claim was unacceptable. Returning to LAS on 9 am flight without any real food options wasn’t what we expected in a new terminal. I used travel to Hawaii every three months and I would use the original terminal.
Aloha! I recently had a bowl of ramen at the new restaurant in this terminal and I really enjoyed it. Great customer service too. I find it to be a nice addition to the terminal.
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Latest contact with Hawaiian Air making reservations. Total Nightmare. I had completed an itinerary for December 2023 and realized that I had booked an incorrect return date. Website said I could view my “trips” and there I would be able to cancel or change my booking. No link to that function could be found anywhere! I finally got through to “reservations” and after a mostly incoherent conversation the correction I needed was complete. I was asked for my credit card info for a charge of $40/passenger to do the change. I did get an e-mail confirming the changes but the new booking did not include our seat selections that I had made and paid for for upgraded seats. I changed the seats but was charged again the $10/passenger per flight. On top of all this I received no receipt showing the charges for my flight. I looked on line for “my receipts” and was informed that that function is unavailable. Lesson Learned….stay away from Hawaiian Airlines!!!
Aloha Rob+Jeff Mahalo for the interesting story on the concourse. Wasted space and then the rail line seems to have not the ridership they imagined. This overspending on projects not being utilized to their peak efficiency is astounding. So many in need of housing with the cost of living there, There is something definitely missing with the govt. there. Hope you are having a great travelling summer. Warm regards Deb
Hi Debra.
Thank you. Yes, that’s right. The rail line doesn’t go to the airport at this time and will probably never go to anywhere visitors would find it useful.
Aloha.
Spot on article gentlemen. I have been through that terminal many times. I often wondered why the heck the space as you enter the concourse is so huge. It is really a lot of useless space. It does not look like a space that could be converted to say, a decent sized restaurant.
The space where the gates are located are spacious. Makes for easy boarding.
Airport is really underutilized in the evening hours. Getting food after 6 pm is not easy.
Hopefully a new concessionaire will bring better fare throughout the airport.
Aloha, Kelly
Hi Kelly.
Thank you. We appreciate your many comments. And yes getting food anywhere in T1 or the Mauka Concourse is tough later in the day.
Aloha.
Mahalo BOH for keeping your readers up to date. With the slow rollout of the Mauka concourse, I guess I shouldn’t hold my breath for a remodel of T1 (which if memory serves turns 30 years old this month). It would seem that T1 is pretty much frozen in time despite handling some Mainland flights since 2000.
Hi Peter.
Thanks. It looks a lot older than 30 to be honest, and you’re right it is just 30.
Aloha.
As someone that flew back to the mainland from the “new” terminal I can find nothing to disagree with you about relative to all of the statements about the terminal. One can only wonder about the reasons why no real concessions have shown up there but I suspect that the cost per square foot for space in that area is probably pretty horrendous. Maybe the people that came up with this terminal design had the “field of dreams” idea that if we build it they will come, except they were wrong.
And when you look at the sheer size of the terminal when it comes to dead space, the waste on utility costs has got to be significant too.
With all that Hawaii has to offer as to vacations with HNL being the primary gateway to the Islands, it just does not appear that anyone was really serious about the design and implementation of the new terminal and that is sad commentary for the many thousands of travelers that pass through that terminal.