We’ve been hearing from many of you about the unprecedented number of Hawaii flight delays and cancellations so far this week. Both in comments, from friends, and others. One friend exclaimed, “Hawaiian Airlines has dropped the ball every day this week so far.” Another used words we won’t quote to describe their frustration.
Digging deeper, we found that the problems have rocketed to a new level. According to flight tracking service FlightAware, on Monday and Tuesday, there were 1,199 Hawaii flights delayed and 172 Hawaii flights canceled entirely. And it is too early to know how today will shake out, but it isn’t looking much better based on the image below.
The problems are partly due to the freakish Kona storm that swept through the islands on Sunday and Monday, the ongoing Honolulu runway outage, bad weather this week on the mainland, staffing shortages, and other largely inexplicable reasons. Delays and cancellations also led to enormous baggage handling issues that are still being sorted out today.
Hawaiian Airlines experienced by far the most cancellations and delays, as would be expected with the sheer number of flights they operate in the islands. For example, Monday’s delayed and canceled Hawaiian flights at Honolulu Airport represented 77% of their total flights.
Hawaiian Airlines travel waiver issued.
Hawaiian Airlines didn’t specifically mention Hawaii’s storm in their statement. Instead, they said that the problem and their offer are “Due to the convergence of operational disruptions and inclement weather on the mainland.”
Hawaiian is offering those with mainland or interisland flights through December 25 the ability to change flights without any fee or fare difference. Just rebook or cancel by December 25. Guests must call or live chat on the Hawaiian website to obtain the waiver offer.
Update: We are receiving reports from readers that the Hawaiian Airlines Call Center in the Philippines does not seem to be in sync yet with the situation and travel waiver.
(3/4) We are offering a travel waiver for all guests who have booked flights departing Dec. 20 – 25, 2022 HST within the neighbor islands and between Hawai‘i and the continental U.S. See details: https://t.co/gkFRPmJMR3. pic.twitter.com/xIpuNi4rFl
— Hawaiian Airlines (@HawaiianAir) December 20, 2022
172 Hawaii Flights were canceled Monday and Tuesday.
Monday’s 73 Hawaii Flight cancellations
- Honolulu: 26 Hawaiian Airlines, 5 Southwest Airlines, 1 Delta Airlines
- Maui: 16 Hawaiian Airlines, 4 Southwest Airlines, 2 Air Canada, 1 Alaska Airlines
- Lihue: 6 Hawaiian Airlines, 1 Alaska Airlines, 1 Southwest Airlines
- Kona: 6 Hawaiian Airlines
- Hilo: 4 Hawaiian Airlines
Tuesday’s 99 Hawaii Flight Cancelations
- Honolulu: 40 Hawaiian Airlines, 2 Southwest Airlines, 1 United Airlines, 1 Air Canada, 1 Westjet Airlines
- Maui: 21 Hawaiian Airlines, 2 Southwest Airlines, 1 Westjet Airlines
- Lihue: 14 Hawaiian Airlines
- Kona: 8 Hawaiian Airlines, 1 Westjet Airlines
- Hilo: 7 Hawaiian Airlines
1,199 Hawaii Flights delayed Monday and Tuesday.
Monday’s 680 Hawaii flight delays (arrivals and departures)
- Honolulu (333): 163 Hawaiian Airlines, 59 Southwest Airlines, 14 Delta Airlines, 4 Air Canada, 18 Alaska Airlines, 27 Mokulele Airlines, 29 United Airlines, 5 Westjet Airlines, 14 American Airlines
- Maui (166): 77 Hawaiian Airlines, 21 Southwest Airlines, 1 Air Canada, 15 Alaska Airlines, 4 Westjet Airlines, 7 Delta Airlines, 22 Mokulele Airlines, 13 United Airlines, 6 American Airlines
- Lihue (60): 37 Hawaiian Airlines, 6 Alaska Airlines, 13 Southwest Airlines, 1 Delta Airlines, 3 United Airlines
- Kona (87): 42 Hawaiian Airlines, 1 Westjet Airlines, 7 Alaska Airlines, 2 Delta Airlines, 6 Mokulele Airlines, 17 Southwest Airlines, 5 United Airlines, 4 American Airlines, 3 Air Canada
- Hilo (34): 23 Hawaiian Airlines, 3 Mokulele Airlines, 8 Southwest Airlines
Tuesday’s 519 Hawaii flight delays (arrivals and departures)
- Honolulu (235): 126 Hawaiian Airlines, 52 Southwest Airlines, 17 United Airlines, 2 Air Canada, 4 Westjet Airlines, 12 Alaska Airlines, 8 Delta Airlines, 12 Mokulele Airlines, 2 American Airlines
- Maui (136): 65 Hawaiian Airlines, 20 Southwest Airlines, 2 Westjet Airlines, 12 Alaska Airlines, 5 Delta Airlines, 15 Mokulele Airlines, 6 United Airlines, 7 American Airlines, 4 Air Canada
- Lihue (52): 26 Hawaiian Airlines, 1 American Airlines, 6 Alaska Airlines, 1 Delta Airlines, 13 Southwest Airlines, 4 United Airlines, 1 Westjet Airlines
- Kona (66): 32 Hawaiian Airlines, 2 Westjet Airlines, 9 Alaska Airlines, 6 Mokulele Airlines, 11 Southwest Airlines, 4 United Airlines, 2 American Airlines
- Hilo (30): 18 Hawaiian Airlines, 4 Mokulele Airlines, 8 Southwest Airlines
Please be grateful for these delays and cancellations. Our Monday flight was delayed 2 hours but Not cancelled due to the storm leading to the scariest flight of our lives. The lightning was right next to the wing and the plan kept doing free falls out of the sky. This was a flight from Honolulu to LAX at the same time as the Arizona flight going the other way with all the injuries. I have never heard an entire plane of people scream like that. We thought we were going to plummet into the ocean and die.
So sorry! For that reason I will Never fly to Hawaii on a single aisle plane. Flew to HI on a bouncy Alaska flight a few years ago…terrifying!! I don’t care what it costs, I will only fly Hawaiian 2 aisle planes, never drink more than a glass or two of water, never use restroom, always are seat belted.
We received the alert from Hawaiian (currently on Maui departing 12/23) and the overseas call center couldn’t help with the waiver option. We would have changed the flights but the text bot also couldn’t help. I don’t understand why Hawaiian would suggest using a waiver but not create a FAQ for their call center or update their bots.
Some people would say that “Hawaiian Airlines” has a Special Way of showing how much they care about their passengers, others would say that HAL Doesn’t Care! That’s what Brand Loyalty gets you.
Maybe, Possibly, the person that is supposed to initiate the change is on Christmas Vacation and no one else can Authorize it. Maybe they called off because of too much Snow in Hawaii. Possibly the Overseas Call Center Boss got the order and thought that it was a Joke, Hawaiian wouldn’t Ever Authorize something like this He Thought!
The islands were opened too soon for tourism to return and this is a shame because at the end of the day….the ones that suffer are the tourists! Shame on the HTA, HVCB and the Hawaii Goverment for allowing this to happen. I guess Greed got to them!!!!
Hawaii needs to limit flights into the islands and give better customer service otherwise, we will just be like any other destination like Cancun, Florida. Learn from the French on how they sell Tahiti and their islands or how Singapore market their tourism! Also, Hawaii needs to be made that in reality, if you have the money, you come to Hawaii if you don’t….You Don’t Come To Hawai’i!
I admit that I haven’t been Everywhere. That said, whether Florida, Mexico, That Dominican Republic and other Caribbean Destinations, the West Indies, or even Flying Back to Philadelphia, JFK, Newark, Chicago they All beat this Hawaiian Islands Joke. The Busiest Airports in the World have Less Problems and Better Considerations for Tourists and Travelers alike compared to Hawaii.
Thats the reason I will never fly hawaiian air again. To try to speak to someone that understands situations is a joke. All calls go to the phillipines and there english is horrible and they have no clue understanding anything.
Hawaiian needs there call center in america !!!!!!
Alaska air does !!!
What ceases to amaze me is that they teach English as a 2nd language in the Philippines and most are quite proficient. Does Hawaiian search for the people who have overwhelming problems with English and hire them? It certainly seems like it. Another Constant and Consistent Failure for Hawaiian and they Can’t say that they don’t know about it. HAL, Caring for their passengers!
I’ve never had an issue with communication. The call staff is very proficient, knowledgeable, and courteous.
Queen, you’re seemingly one of the extremely Few, count your Blessings.
But then again, with the lost baggage issue( and other fiascos happening this week) I won’t be using them any longer.
Had a nightmare experience with myself and my pets with Hawaiian airlines today. I’ll never fly with them again and didn’t make my flight today. I’m disabled, didn’t have a wheelchair and had to take a knee in line to check my bags because the kiosk didn’t work but had to sit because my legs were buckling. I have to trust my animals with them tomorrow and I’m booked on my beloved Southwest Airlines…
Fly Hawaiian Airlines, if they’re able to get off of the ground. If you have plenty of time to kill and without any real deadlines or schedules to keep then Fly Hawaiian, they’re rarely on time. As I think up New Slogans for Hawaiian Airlines I almost feel sorry for them, I did say Almost, and wonder what the Loyal HAL Passengers feel like with all of this happening. Every Airline had canceled flights and delays, just not to the extent of HAL. Some will point to HAL having more overall flights, I see a trend that’s been apparent for some time. Excuses are like elbows, everyone has them!
Flights that are taking off are over weight so people’s belongings are not coming thru with them including many car seats and boosters!
Maybe, possibly, if the effected Airlines were to take Less Commercial Cargo this wouldn’t be a problem and passengers would get their checked items and baggage, that they undoubtedly had to pay extra for, once they arrived. It’s Time for a Passengers “Bill of Rights.” If one already exists it surely needs updating and to be Expanded Upon!
We were in Maui waiting for the connecting flight to LAX and were delayed 24 hours. The real problem was that there was no news or updates, the desk personnel (some who said it was their 2nd day on the job) kept telling us our plane was waiting to take off or had taken off from Kona, but it mysteriously never appeared in Maui. By the time we were 6 hours overdue, they no longer gave us updates and the flight was no longer on the reader board, neither as Delayed nor as Cancelled. The information gap was huge! We were Not offered accommodations, we slept in the airport chairs, or outside in the open (where the storm was).
Very poor communication.
The weather is beyond the airlines control. Frustration is when airlines know about the weather and play it thinking it’s going to clear up in the next hour when it’s obvious it’s not. Best tell us all early flight canceled versus having us go to the airport and make things worse for them. Lots of bodies doing nothing at the airport is a recipe for disaster. They need to be proactive. Lately all they are is reactive as if it’s a new situation. Bad weather is nothing new they should be experienced in how to handle that. The frustration for us consumers is we rely and believe then it’s okay to fly now even it’s not! The reality is a certain # of flights must be canceled in order to do a reset of the flights.
Being proactive is not in Hawaiian’s mission statement.
My United flight from Lihue to LAX was on time, Tuesday.
How long were these delays on average? I really do not mind up to an hour delay. So far all my flights on Southwest have been on time or early.
I guess I am just lucky.
I flew Hawaiian Airlines on Monday was delayed about an hour leaving Honolulu. I can’t fault Hawaiian. Our delay was to accomodate baggage from other delayed flights. I was impressed they managed to fly at all in that horrendous storm. The flight itself was bumpy, but nothing too unusual. And the service on the flight was top-notch, as usual.
I Do have an issue, however, with the baggage return at the end of the flight. When I arrived in Honolulu earlier in the month, I waited an hour for any baggage from our flight. Same story when I flew back to Oakland. Personnel issues?
What an unfortunate situation. Hope all of this gets resolved in a timely manner and those affected are safe and well.
I am very interested in becoming an Hawaiian Airlines team member in Las Vegas. How do I apply?
We arrived on Monday on Hawaiian. Left San Jose at 11:30am after sitting on tarmac for 1 1/2 hours AFTER delayed from 8am flight to 10am boarding. Then arrived in Oahu without luggage!!!! THEN another 2 hours I line at baggage claim. Didn’t leave airport until 730pm. Last time we are flying hawaiian.
What a way to begin a vacation.:0( We are beginning to wonder if it is worth it to attempt to Fly Anywhere any more. One wonderw how Everything, Everywhere could get so screwed up and Stay screwed up. It is maddening.
I’m during the storm. I was kind of shocked to see multiple planes land at OGG right in the middle of a thunderstorm.