Starting April 1, Hawaiian Airlines will revoke access to its Plumeria Lounge at Honolulu Airport for members of the global Priority Pass program. This change leaves some travelers scrambling for alternatives, signaling a broader transformation underway at Hawaii’s busiest airport, now driven by Alaska/Hawaiian Airlines.
Why Priority Pass is losing access to Plumeria Lounge.
Priority Pass recently confirmed the change on its website in All caps: “EFFECTIVE 01APR25 THIS LOUNGE WILL NO LONGER BE PART OF THE PROGRAMME. NO ACCESS WILL BE GIVEN ON OR AFTER THIS DATE.”
Until then, Priority Pass members can still enter the Plumeria Lounge between 6:30 a.m. and 10 p.m., space permitting. After that, entry will be limited to Hawaiian Airlines passengers flying internationally in business class or on specific routes to New York and Boston.
While most visitors do not consider the lounge luxurious, it was a valued perk. As one social media user put it, “While it isn’t the greatest lounge, it was nice to have access with an AmEx Platinum card—much better than waiting at the gate.”
Priority Pass is a global airport lounge membership program often bundled with premium travel credit cards. It grants access to over 1,300 airport lounges worldwide. For many travelers, it’s one of the most-used perks of cards like the AmEx Platinum or Chase Sapphire Reserve, offering a quieter space to wait, snack, and recharge before flights.
What Plumeria Lounge offered to Priority Pass members.
The Plumeria Lounge invited Priority Pass members to join Hawaiian Airlines elite fliers for modest self-serve snacks, beer, wine, soft drinks, Wi-Fi, and charging outlets. While its beige decor and limited space weren’t memorable, it provided a welcome escape from the terminal chaos when HNL is busy.
One traveler recalled, “Not a great lounge but way better than Premier Club. I like the local food—had a kalua pork slider on a taro sweetbread roll and also liked the yakisoba noodles.”
Premier Club, unlike the Plumeria Lounge, is for First Class domestic passengers and Pualani Platinum and Gold members. One user said, “I don’t know if I’d even consider the Premier Club a lounge.”
Other than offering a more comfortable place to wait for a flight, we’d agree the lounge falls short by nearly every standard. So much so that we’d say one of the highlights is the private restroom facilities.
Read: Don’t Dare Enter These Hawaii Airline Lounges On Arrival.
Where Priority Pass members can go now.
The IASS Hawaii Lounge in Terminal 2 is now the only Priority Pass option at HNL. Still, its limited hours (7:30 a.m. to 1:30 p.m. and 2:00 p.m. to 6:00 p.m.) and basic amenities make it a far cry from Plumeria and a long walk from Terminal 1. For Hawaiian Airlines passengers departing from Terminal 1, it’s very inconveniently located, but for all other airline passengers, it will be much closer.
As one commenter lamented, “T2 lounge is even crappier. Can’t even call that a lounge.”
The move also follows a trend. One commenter pointed out, “Alaska did the same by removing Priority Pass many years ago. I’d assume the same thing is applying here.”
What’s next for Honolulu Airport lounges?
The new Hawaiian and Alaska flagship lounge planned for 2027 promises a much-improved space for top-tier travelers, with five times the space and a new location at the Mauka Concourse entrance. It’s likely to become a showcase for Alaska’s vision for Hawaiian Airlines. However, for the average Hawaii visitor, the gap between now and then may still feel wide.
Expectations are high. Randy A. commented, “Let’s hope this one actually delivers now that Alaska is in charge.” With both airlines operating under a shared strategy but separate brands, many will be watching how they define the future of Hawaii air travel.
As the Alaska-Hawaiian partnership evolves, travelers will be watching to see if these changes truly elevate the airport experience—or simply leave more passengers waiting at the gate.
For now, the end of Priority Pass access at Plumeria marks the first visible ripple in what could be a major transformation at Honolulu Airport. Whether that transformation benefits all travelers remains to be seen.
What’s your reaction to this change?
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@Chris R.
This is Not true!
AS still offers free access to the Alaska Lounge when flying paid/award first class on Alaska, or paid/award first or business class on Hawaiian as long as the non-stop flight is 2,000 miles or more.
Free lounge access does Not apply to upgrades or to connections.
However, if you’re flight is under 2,000 miles and you’re traveling in first class on Alaska or first or business class on Hawaiian, you may purchase a one-time single visit entry on day of travel to the Alaska Lounge for $35.00. The ticket must either be paid or an award. Upgrades do not apply.
As a 100K on Alaska, I’m almost always upgraded to first. However, upgrades to first do not qualify for access into the Alaska Lounge. I maintain a separate Alaska Lounge + membership which by extension provides access to all of the AA Admirals Clubs and a few United Club locations.
Sumner R.
Hahahahahahahahah … OUuch!! My fingers are sore from typing Hahaha … or as the “dialed in crowd” likes to say … “LOL … told ya’ so … ”
“They” (whomever that might be) just don’t listen to ol’ Capt Aloha … do they .. ???
Patting myself on the back … ***Ouc*** … that Hurts when you’re doin’ it and possessed of 78 years of mileage on your body and frequent flyer card …. and … semi-useful consciousness … (smiles)
…. as I predicted this early and often in the HAL/ASA “merger” discussions on this Excellent (yes, I’m sucking up now) website … it’s not a “merger” when one company buy$$$$$$$$$ the other, and FWIW, I’ve BTDT 2X while in “The Show” … or, if you prefer, “the airlines” …
My motto (or at least one of ’em): The More Things Change, The More They Stay The Same …
Aloha, Bruddah’s and Sistah’s …
Will be using other Airline carrier. Extremely
Disappointed , have been HA passenger
Forever!!
It was always the poorest excuse for a lounge. Yet used it each time. Alaska will turn Hawaiian into the same low standards it is used to.
Alaska will destroy the aloha.
Hello United and AA.
You guys got one thing very wrong. There is no “Alaska-Hawaiian partnership.” Alaska is firmly in charge and making all the decisions. Once the operating certificates are merged Alaska will start gutting Hawaiian.
Only used it once when I had a long wait for flight to Japan. Was not impressed. It was very underwhelming and very overcrowded. Personally I prefer to wait at the gate and watch the planes moving about, then I like to be where I can unwind and not worry about getting to the gate on time.
Hi BOH, any word on Priority Pass replacing it? I agree it certainly wasn’t the best, but we stopped in almost every time we fly for a snack and drink. And don’t say IASS is an alternative, the first and only time I visited, I was in disbelief that I was actually in the correct place (nothing but a small refrigerator with soft drinks and few bags of chips) – I’ve been to 50+ PP lounges and it was far and away the worst.
We recently tried to use the Plumeria Lounge with Priority Plus, and the hostess there was exceedingly rude to us, threatening to send us back into the waiting line (where we had been for 15 minutes already) if we did not show her our Priority Pass card immediately. Once we got in, we were told we could not sit where we were and told to go sit in other seats, which were already occupied. Not the aloha spirit, to say the least.
No great loss. I have never been to a smaller or cheaper lounge. The staff was very rude, looking for every reason to deny check-in and then only begrudgingly allowing admittance. I even witnessed them denying admission to one of their top tier daily flyers; the kind of traveler that would get the reserved seats at a Centurion lounge…
I don’t even try to go there any more, there’s simply no reason to.
Not much to miss. Pretty much a lounge in name only. Though with the removal of Priority Pass visitors, the crowds will probably be pretty minimal.
I am glad Jack Magoon isn’t around to see any of this. He understood business but also understood service. Try your best to keep the customer happy and coming back.
Agree that the Plumeria Lounge at HNL is fairly basic and no natch in comparison to the Admirals Ciub, the United Club, or Delta Sky
Club. Have only visited the Plumeria Lounge once, and found it somewhat underwhelming. Was a HA Premier Club member for several years but didn’t renew this year. The Premier Club membership cost is much lower when compared to other airline airport lounges, but it’s better than waiting at the gate. The only Premier Club location that’s best avoided is Lihue. That Premier Club is really nothing more than a walk-in closet. It will now be interesting to see what AS/HA comes up with in 2027 at HNL.
Aloha to all.
Wish they could speed up the new AK/HI Lounge!! 2026 would be much better! 🙂
Re: Plumeria Lounge Lost Access.
No big deal. It was a sub-standard lounge to begin with, being small and often overcrowded. Plus food and drink offerings were minimal. Not a loss.
Maybe it’s just an ‘April Fools Day’ prank !
Hawaii travel and travel is general feels less and less welcoming every year. Lounges used to be a nice equalizer for those of us with good travel cards. Now it’s just more gates and more crowds. Fewer perks and higher prices. Discouraging.
I’ve seen better amenities in my high school teacher’s lounge. Why haven’t they figured out airport hospitality after all these decades of tourism?
I flew through Tahiti last year and even their lounge felt more inclusive and welcoming than this one ever did. HNL needs to step it up.
Hope they actually do something special with this new flagship lounge Alaska is building. Otherwise, this just feels like removing what was admittedly a basic benefit while we wait years for something better.
I used the Plumeria Lounge a few times and only went because it was better than the gate. But that’s not exactly a compliment. This isn’t a huge loss.
What bothers me more is that Hawaiian’s lounges have always been subpar. Terrible snacks, tired furniture, and barely any aloha now. This change just highlights how far behind they’ve been for years.
Alaska pulling this access doesn’t surprise me. They did the same years ago with their lounges that are hard as heck to get into. Guess we’ll all be sitting at the Hawaiian gate again.
Honestly, I’ve never been a fan of Priority Pass. The lounges are hit-or-miss, and this one at HNL always felt like a placeholder, not a premium experience.
Gotta be the work of someone either in or with the help of someone in the Hawaiian government. Only an inept, insensitive, overpaid, and underworked government worker would make this decision. That sound you’re hearing is the last sounds deposits into a toilet make before disappearing. That’s where Hawaii’s economy will go, I’m afraid. Down the toilet. Best of luck.
I anticipate that pretty soon the lounge won’t be accessible to business or first class ticket holders either. Alaskan Airlines did away with this perk a couple of years ago at SEA-TAC.