Hawaii has always felt like the kind of trip where everything should be a little better. The anticipation builds for months or longer. It marks something important—a long-delayed escape, a family milestone, a return to a place that still feels like a paradise within the U.S. There’s a quiet kind of ceremony to it. And on the plane, that feeling often starts early—the flight, the mood, even the seat.
For many travelers, sitting up front has been an integral part of the experience. It might mean finally using those saved-up miles, grabbing an upgrade in advance or at the last minute, or treating yourself on the way home from the islands. But what that seat includes is starting to shift.
Two major U.S. airlines that often set the tone for the industry have now confirmed they’re preparing changes to what premium tickets include. Hawaii flights are likely to be among the first where travelers feel the impact.
Airlines plan to unbundle what premium even means.
Delta and United have both signaled that the premium travel experience is going to change, though each is approaching it differently.
Our first thought was that it might lower the cost. For now, we have zero expectation that the base fare will drop to any degree, if at all. You’ll pay more for perks that have been included with the premium class domestic.
Delta has already started testing new fare bundles in its domestic first-class cabins. These divide perks into paid options, such as lounge access, advance seat selection, and change flexibility. What was once a single all-inclusive ticket now varies in price and features depending on the fare version you choose.
United, during its July 2025 earnings call, stated that it is actively evaluating a similar path. Executives confirmed that the airline is investigating new options for Polaris and domestic front-cabin service that would offer fewer benefits at a lower price point. While no changes have been implemented by United yet, the language made clear that the Airline is preparing for the shift rather than simply exploring ideas.
Delta President Glen Hauenstein summed it up this way: “Not everybody wants the full experience.” For many travelers headed to Hawaii, however, that may come as quite a surprise.
Airline leadership describes this as a way to offer travelers more choice.
That may sound reasonable in theory, but for those heading to Hawaii, it means the front-cabin experience many people have worked toward—using miles, upgrades, or cash could soon come stripped of what made it feel premium. The seat may still be the same, but everything around it, from the lounge to flexibility and more, may now require separate payment.
Ultimately, unbundling will not benefit customers; instead, it will help the airlines’ bottom line. And if you think this is just about United and Delta, think again. As they go, so does the entire industry, including American and Alaska/Hawaiian.
Why Hawaii flights are likely to see these changes first.
Hawaii flights do not offer the same business travel protections as high-frequency corporate routes. That makes them an easy target. Premium cabins to the islands are typically filled by leisure travelers such as couples celebrating honeymoons and anniversaries, families redeeming miles, or visitors splurging after years of saving. These travelers often book early, expect a full-service experience, and are more vulnerable to stripped-down offerings that look premium but no longer feel that way.
Demand for premium seats to Hawaii is outpacing demand for economy.
That trend has already led to higher fares, far fewer award seats, and routes designed around premium-heavy aircraft. Unbundling takes it further. If airlines can keep selling the seat at a high price while removing some of the surrounding features, they gain more pricing power without adding anything.
What may disappear from premium class tickets to Hawaii?
Based on how this has already rolled out internationally and what Delta and United are now preparing, the most vulnerable parts of the Hawaii front-cabin experience are easy to spot.
Advance seat assignments are at the top of the list. Some international airlines, including British Airways, already charge business-class passengers to select a seat. If that becomes the model here, business/first-class travelers flying to Hawaii without upper elite status may need to pay extra to reserve a specific seat.
Lounge access is another likely target. That pre-flight stop at a premium club in Honolulu or Los Angeles may no longer be included, even on tickets labeled first class or business.
First-class change and refund policies that were once more standard could also shift. Some fares already lock travelers into nonrefundable terms unless they buy a higher-priced version of the same seat.
Even services like priority boarding or check-in could be sold separately, depending on the fare bundle purchased.
This kind of unbundling is already familiar in economy, where overhead bin space, seat selection, and basic flexibility are treated as extras. What makes this different is that it is now creeping into the part of the plane that was supposed to include everything. Business or First Class has long been the space where you didn’t have to think about what came with the ticket. That’s what may be changing next on flights to and from Hawaii.
We have seen what real premium service looks like.
On recent flights from Hawaii, including United Polaris from Lihue to Denver, the traditional model has still held up. BOH editors will also soon fly the Hawaiian Dreamliner to review how its front cabin compares as the airline becomes Alaska-owned.
These routes continue to offer the full range of what travelers associate with premium class: a spacious lie-flat seat on wide-body routes, access to a real lounge, early boarding, and some level of flexibility depending on fare class. The food may be hit or miss, but the product still feels relatively complete. It turns a long Hawaii flight into something close to a reward. That standard, however, may soon be the exception rather than the norm.
If lounge access is no longer included, if selecting your seat costs more, and if even basic ticket changes are no longer possible without upgrading to a higher fare class, the value of flying up front begins to disintegrate. It becomes a transaction made up of parts, instead of a unified experience worth planning and saving for.
Loyalty travelers may feel this most.
Many Beat of Hawaii readers have spent years collecting airline miles, earning credit card bonuses, and chasing elite status with one goal in mind: to finally redeem an upgrade to Hawaii. That strategy has made sense under the traditional model, where a front-cabin reward meant more than just a seat—it meant the whole experience. But as airlines begin dividing premium cabins into new fare tiers, that upgrade may no longer feel like a true payoff.
A traveler spending 80,000 to 250,000 miles might find themselves with fewer included benefits than expected. They could be seated in the front, but miss out on the full experience they thought they were redeeming. What airlines still market as aspirational may feel more like a stripped-down reward with confusing terms and inconsistent value.
For loyalty travelers used to a clear exchange, miles for comfort, the shift complicates everything. Fare class codes and fine print will matter more. The chart that used to tell you what you got now tells you what is missing.
Booking tools may not show the whole picture.
One of the risks for travelers is that some fare restrictions are often not apparent until the final stages of booking. Airlines may label a ticket as first class or business class without clearly stating which perks are excluded. Seat maps may not appear until just before payment. Lounge access policies can be inconsistent, buried in fine print, or dependent on the departure airport. A traveler could reasonably assume that a premium ticket includes everything, only to find out at the airport that it does not.
As these changes roll out, checking the details becomes critical. Travelers should carefully examine fare class codes, review the included items, and contact the airline if necessary. Just because a seat is in the front of the plane does not mean the rest of the experience still comes attached.
Why this matters for Hawaii-bound travelers.
Hawaii is not just another destination. It is often still a trip of great personal significance. For some, it is a first-time visit after years of dreaming. For others, it is the annual getaway they plan around. That kind of travel carries different expectations. When you buy a premium ticket to Hawaii, you expect a seamless experience. You do not expect to be told that your premium seat assignment costs extra, that your flight cannot be changed, or that the lounge you were counting on is not included.
Airlines call it “choice.” Hawaii travelers might refer to it by a different name. The seat might still recline fully or go flat, but the feeling that you booked something special may be harder to find. Travelers will need to work harder to get the experience that used to come standard.
This may not happen all at once. Airlines tend to roll out these changes in stages, testing them in specific markets before rolling them out more widely. But Hawaii routes check every box for an early adoption. High leisure demand. Strong load factors. Low business mix. Airlines know these are the routes where they can quietly test the limits of what travelers will accept.
That is why this shift is particularly significant now. The figurative Dreamliner window for what premium class has meant on Hawaiian flights is closing. And for many travelers, what replaces it may not feel like much of a choice at all.
Have you recently flown first class to Hawaii? Did it feel like it used to? We invite your comments.
Lead Photo Credit – United Airlines Polaris.
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Guess we may need to find another vacation island or vacation spot. Very disappointed in these changes with the airlines. Flying isn’t special anymore. Emily B
I’m taking a cruise from Seattle to Japan 2 stops in Alaska. 13 days. Going to Vietnam after Tokyo. Got first class for $850
Final destination Bangkok. Coming back to SFO EVA premium economy. All my flights are booked on non USA carriers. The Asia airlines have been way ahead of our own so at 75 yr old retired active senior. I don’t want the poor product for nickel and dime issues. So I’ll keep my short domestic flight Southwest a list one bag. Perk. Jury out on reserve seats next year. John
We flew 3 premium economy flights this month. The British Airways Heathrow to Boston wanted 95£ to choose your seat until 7 days prior to the flight since we are Alaska VIP. The service and amenities were great. We also flew United and Iceland Air. The only perks for those flights were a bit more leg room. Nothing more. Very disappointing and consistent with this article
We did fly premium economy on Alaska to Kona in March. We took your advice and bought the seat between us. They were the best flights in a long time to Hawai ( especially first class upgrade outbound)
I think the notion that a flight to Hawaii is some kind of stand alone experience, a trip to a mythical dream world where everything exists in a state of fantastic perfection is a bit of an exaggeration of what most if not all travelers expect of any flight these days. Is anybody expecting to be waited on have and foot as if you were in a spa in first class? No. I expect an elevated level of service but it’s been a long time since the days of being greeted with leis.
Lounge access is made pretty clear as far as I see it. United offers it in the check out process. Alaska has long not offered lounge access to first class travelers unless you have status or your flight is over 2000 miles so that means all Hawaii bound first class travelers get lounge access.
I’m not a huge fan of this unbundling but I also don’t think expectations are quite as lofty as you describe.
Alaska does not offer lounge if ticket was miles or upgrade to 1st class.
Alaska and Hawaiian do in fact give passengers lounge access with a First Class ticket. The does not apply to complimentary First Class upgrades.
Thank you for the clarification. Hawaiians lounge at HNL is so poor. I’d forgotten about it and I don’t believe Alaska has a lounge at Honolulu.
This change to diversify “first class” into various levels sounds good to me. Since no true “premium economy” is offered on Hawaii route per se, these changes sound like they could result in an offering akin to that or even more of a “coach class” product.
The bottom line for my wife and I is that we (mainly me) are interested most in a better (bigger) seat and plenty of legroom (space between rows). We don’t really care about the exact seat, when we board, lounge access, or even fancy food and free booze, but we certainly know some people do. So let those people pay for the features they want. I prefer a la carte pricing in most products so I get only the feature I want. Don’t get me wrong – I still like fries with my sandwich in a restaurant, but I don’t want to pay for a lounge or fancy food if I can save a couple hundred dollars and still get that great first class size seat!
“Not everybody wants the full experience..” – but the people who don’t need/ want everything included expect a lower fare.
Nobody wants to pay the same price and get a lower experience.
This ist just another plan to charge the people who do want the inclusions like seat selection, lounge access etc more money without providing cheaper airfares for the “unbundled” product
Correct me if I’m wrong, but lounge access was never included with a first class ticket to Hawaii.
It depends on the airline. For example, if you fly on AA from DFW and happen to get a True first class seat on a 777-300 that has a True first class cabin, you will get Admirals Club access in DFW and HNL. “First” class on a A321NEO from PHX or LAX does not get you lounge access.
I have flown AS to and from Hawaiʻi in first class and have never gotten lounge access. Possibly that has changed since they bought HA. But, HA’s lounges in HNL and OGG are a joke so it doesn’t matter.
I am a 20 year Maui resident whose summer job is to downsize radically our Sacramento house and get rid of 45 years of stuff. But on weekends, Igo to the State Fair and other amusements, and it is relatively cheap here to dine out with old friends (Sac is my old hometown).
Thank God Hawai’ian /Alaska fly nonstop between sac and Maui. It’s only about 5.5 hours. Iam totally happy with Extra Comfort on a neo a321 (3-3). I am appalled at the economic stratification of every thing in America. Where is the Aloha? No shame, apparently. And my food more Ono than 1st class. Good luck to all you tall visitors with oodles of miles. Aloha kakou.
Marketing…the black art of providing the customer with the least possible value for the most possible revenue.
What exactly are the Hawaii bound flights in first class going to be stripped down to?
Can you email me a list?
The article is well written, but it does not clearly list everything
Yes, we just took the Hawaiian Dreamliner LAX – HNL in mid June First Class. We had booked the trip way back in Nov 2024 because it was a “Special Family Members Wedding”. At the time of booking we had no idea that this might be the last Hawaiian Dreamliner flight to the Islands. The experience was what we had expected (only we hadn’t flown on the Hawaiian Dreamliner before) from prior first class service flights. Everything was still included. Airport Priority Check-in, Lounge Access at LAX & HNL, 2 Free Bags, Priority Boarding, The usual First Class Meals & Cocktails, Free iPad entertainment (although as you had already explained in a prior artical, there was no WiFi Internet access). We enjoyed it. And yes, that’s part of the Island Experience starting with the flight.
If these options are going to change we will certainly think twice about whom we fly with in the future.
It’s too confusing. Ultra elite status. What’s next Ultra platinum elite status then Ultra gold elite status etc. Then there is the lounge access level, cancel no fee option, or the advance seat select option. IMO the only experience anyone will endure after this would be a migraine headache experience. It is plainly not stated in any of these options are some kind of aspirin, ibuprofen and a glass of water. How come airlines have to give all the perks, sales, discounts, and such and when you seem to arrive in Hawaii the islands seem to offer you zilch, nothing, notta.
We always used United s non stop from EWR to HNL, last couple flights in newly outfitted 767-400, don’t care for the 1-1-1 seating when traveling together, the new lie flats a bit tighter fit, we used to sit 1A 1C.
Not crazy about idea of stopping in CA using 2 737’s.
Maybe we’ll try EWR ORD HNL and try the 787 Dreamliner or try premium economy in the 767 this November.
JFK to long a ride to get to, Hawaiian Air took their Dreamliner off the HNL route already I’m reading.
The traveling public is getting tired of the airlines’ corporate word salad BS about “choice, options, and flexibility.” Cut the crap and say what it is; “you will pay more for less of a premium travel experience. We all know what’s going on…..it’s business. The airlines need to make a profit to stay in business in an extremely competitive industry. We get it, but don’t sugarcoat it. To answer the question at the end of the BOH article: first class airline travel to Hawaii has continuously deteriorated in “style and feel” since the mid 1990s. The golden age of air travel has been over for years when it comes to flying to Hawaii.
You say that like it’s something exclusive to Hawaii and hasn’t happened to the rest of the world.
Lounge access is never allowed on domestic first class anyway. That’s only a potential loss for international customers.
What airlines include lounge access with domestic first class now anyway??? I normally fly United but I’ve flown others, and the only one I can ever recall giving lounge access with first class was the now defunct (but amazing in every way) Virgin America…
Ah for the days when there was 1st class and the rest of us. Silly me, when you mentioned lounge, I thought back to the 747.
The “Domestic First Class” experience United offers from Houston to Honolulu is already a far inferior product than Polaris from Houston to Europe, even though the flight length and price are comparable.
I was giddy with excitement when we had an equipment change on our return red-eye flight from Honolulu to Houston in 2022. It meant we had Polaris seating on our 777 instead of the horrid 8 across with every other row facing backwards. We didn’t get any of the other perks, but at least it was more comfortable! I’m not sure airlines can strip down the experience any more than they already have, but I’m sure they’ll find ways!
As someone who flies “up front” on any flight over 3 hours and 2 – 3 times a year to Hawaiʻi more than 10 years, I can say I couldn’t care less about the so-called perks of flying up front. All I care about is the extra room and “comfort”.
Unless you are on a long haul international flight (which Hawaiʻi definitely is not), don’t expect anything great as far as food, either.
Want lounge access? Get a credit card that provides it (there are many), but be prepared to be greatly underwhelmed by US airlines’ lounges.
And so it begins…..
The decline in service & value began Long ago….. Unfortunately the increase in price has moved in the opposite direction !
The more benefits that the airlines strip away while at the same time they add additional fees, increased prices and fwer reasons to remain loyal, the more appealing extended road trips become. A leisurely drive with one or more nights on the road can provide many unique and exciting destinations without all the hassles and uncertainty. Another option we have been exploring for the past couple of years is a quick (much less than the 11+ hours ut takes to get to HI) can put us on numerous relaxing, tropical island in the Caribbean. The same applies to a nice one or two week cruise featuring multiple islands and cultures without all the additional fees and outrageous that are becoming HI’s most dependable feature. My family and I have been regular HI visitors for over 40 years, including 3 years in the mid-90s as residents on Oahu. Our visits started at one or two weeks and have now expanded to four or more each year. I fear a sad Aloha is coming soon..
I have flown in first class on Delta (757) Alaska (737) and Hawaiian (319, 330 and 787). The lie flats on HA were obviously the most comfortable. Cabin service was great on all three.
The food on HA is pretty blah. Food on all three were not comparable to what is offered transatlantic. HA/AS really need to up their game if they are going to compete with Delta One service to Europe.
I can see where service to Hawaii in first class has been lackluster at best.
No need to improve anything…. Just ‘offer’ less service for more $$….
This will the best thing ever if I could win this sweepstakes for me and my fiancee i always wanted to show her Hawaii to see what I have enjoyed in Hawaii when I was there and to be married there will be so exciting for both of us …..