Hawaiian Airlines Extra Legroom Review | Excellent Ride, Awful Technology

Beat of Hawaii editors just returned from French Polynesia. You can read our report that contrasts this neighboring island nation to visiting Hawaii. Many updates are forthcoming, but we’ll tease you by saying it couldn’t be more different than Hawaii!

On our recent journey from Honolulu to Papeete, Tahiti, we traveled on Hawaiian Airlines’ A330 widebody in extra legroom economy seating. We hadn’t flown on this plane with Hawaiian for some time and wanted to check in and report on our latest experience.

This review follows our domestic flight experience on the same aircraft some years ago. Despite being an international route, Hawaiian Airlines treats this flight more like a domestic flight in terms of service.

One of the unique features of this flight is French-speaking Hawaiian Airlines flight attendants, setting the tone for traveling somewhere exotic without ever-changing time zones from Hawaii.

Hawaiian Airlines flies this route every Saturday afternoon. It departs Honolulu at 3:35 p.m. and arrives at Papeete six hours later at 9:30 p.m. The plane then turns around, with passengers departing Papeete at 11:30 p.m. and arriving back in Honolulu at 5:20 a.m. Sunday morning.

To accomplish this weekly flight, they must bring a separate flight crew from Honolulu to fly the plane back as no one stays over. The same flight attendants, however, must work both directions, making for a very long day and night. We were told that all food and service items for both directions are loaded in Honolulu.

Why are we writing this review now with the pending merger?

This weekly route is in demand, and we are sure Alaska will continue to fly it if the merger goes through. It has been said that Hawaiian Airlines’ flight attendants help create that special Aloha feeling since most of them are from Hawaii. And when traveling around the Pacific, that vibe tends to go a long way.

Keeping that spirit and branded Hawaiian Airlines’ planes may be something that Alaska will want to consider seriously. The thought of a Seattle-based Alaska crew flying an Alaska-branded plane to Papeete seems like an odd fit to us.

Review of Hawaiian Airlines A330 Extra Legroom, HNL to PPT.

Ticket purchase: We made the purchase entirely online. That was easy and without a hitch, including purchasing Extra Comfort seat assignments. It was a significant improvement following a very rocky Hawaiian Air reservation system upgrade one year ago. We began this review rather impressed. Score 10/10

Value for money: Utilizing HawaiianMiles made the flight extremely cost-effective, with each round-trip ticket costing 45,000 miles (by our estimate, the cash equivalent of $450). The ticket’s cash purchase price, by comparison, was over $1,000, making the miles redemption a great value. The $90 upgrade for extra legroom was an excellent price for what it provided. Score: 10/10

Online check-in: Not good at all! The Hawaiian Airlines app was buggy throughout its use, so much so that it often did not work, requiring us to return to the website. Even when it did work, the app still sent us to the website for some operations, like seat assignments, as it still remains not fully functional.

When Hawaiian and Alaska announced their plans last December, BOH asked HA executives about the app, and they were non-committal about how far they could complete it before the conclusion of the planned deal.

We have never had such a poor airline app and website experience with other airlines on Hawaii flights. The app and the website also somehow became disassociated with Rob’s reservation and then both of us. Before the entire thing fritzed, Jeff was able to take a screenshot of both boarding passes since neither the website nor the app would ever recognize Rob’s reservation by the confirmation code or ticket number.

The only alternative was calling the Philippine-based customer service, which we knew was not a good plan because of the long wait. We ultimately called them, but all they could do was confirm that it wasn’t working correctly. The app was entirely disappointing, albeit not completely unexpected, based on our recent experiences with Hawaiian’s online services and the many comments our visitors have shared on Beat of Hawaii. Score: 1/10

Boarding experience: Straightforward, easy, on-time and cordial. The airport and the new Hawaiian Airlines terminal was not busy, the check-in counters were adequately staffed. A skycap asked passengers if they wanted a ride to the gate, and we took her up on the offer. The process was smooth and hitch-free. It should be noted that the gate used was at the furthest end of the large new terminal, so extra time is required to get there from a connecting flight arriving at the neighboring interisland terminal. As expected, extra legroom passengers are in boarding group 3, which is another valuable perk, making getting on and storing overhead bags very easy. Passports were checked by Hawaiian Airlines before the plane, where US Border Control agents were waiting in the jetway to recheck passports and ask questions of every single passenger. On boarding the plane, we were greeted by the flight attendants. Score: 10/10

Cabin Environment: The 11-year-old A330 cabin was clean and appeared very well-maintained in terms of fit and finish. That was consistent with our expectations based on prior experiences with Hawaiian long-haul aircraft. However, the familiar, very cold draft emanating from the exit door at row 34 significantly impacted comfort, for which we did come well prepared. We both wore jackets and hats, and we noted that others seated in row 34 did as well, indicating they were also familiar with the cold air to be anticipated at the exit doors. Score: 10/10

Seating Comfort and Legroom: The extra legroom seats provided great space and comfort, as pictured, making the $90 per person each-way upgrade a most worthwhile investment. A pillow and blanket were on our seats and were provided to every passenger. That was especially appreciated for the nearly six-hour flight. The seat itself was relatively comfortable and, while narrow, offered just enough cushioning for the journey, which was somewhat better than we typically experience in newer aircraft seats. As an aside, a flight attendant occupied the adjacent jump seat during take-off and landing, providing fun and interesting interactions. Score: 10/10

In-Flight Entertainment: Free movies, TV shows, and other entertainment is available on personal screens. For the exit row, these screens pull out from the armrest area. The interface was somewhat user-friendly, but the system was old, albeit with a recent software update, and the variety could be expanded, especially given the flight duration. There were some issues with it getting stuck in the wrong language. Lastly, the entertainment system does not provide Bluetooth connectivity. When we inquired, Hawaiian said they provide headsets, although we didn’t see them offering them. We were told later they were only available on request. We didn’t inquire further and used cell phones to access our entertainment via Bluetooth. You can access their entertainment from your phone if the aircraft is Wi-Fi enabled. If there is no Wi-Fi, there is no personal device entertainment. The entertainment system in its entirety sorely lacks compared with, for example, Delta Airlines, Southwest, or United Airlines. Score: 6/10

In-Flight Wi-Fi: The A330 was equipped with Hawaiian’s new free high-speed Wi-Fi. We will cover the details of that offering in a separate article. Score 10/10.

Food and beverage: Unfortunately, the food service remained below minimal expectations. There was only one meal option, and the quality and appearance were disappointing, similar to our previous domestic flight experiences on Hawaiian. It consisted of a chicken sausage roll with cheese, alfredo sauce, and a bag of Maui onion chips. Before landing, all guests were offered a single small Honolulu Cookie. Hawaiian Airlines might consider enhancing its meal offerings, including offering meals for purchase, as it did previously. On the return flight, they provided a small meat and cheese sandwich with a cookie. Part of the issue is that food for both directions is prepared and boarded in Honolulu, so there is limited space.

We much prefer, for example, the Alaska Airlines food options in economy that allow pre-ordering a variety of not-too-expensive meals. Beverages were offered throughout the flight. We also availed ourselves of the galley at the rear of the aircraft rear, which the airline encourages. Score: 5/10

Onboard service by cabin crew: The flight attendants were extremely courteous, friendly, and attentive, beyond what we usually experience when flying on U.S. carriers. But beyond that enjoyable aspect, their overall service to passengers felt basic. Score: 10/10

Overall Hawaiian A330 review experience and summary.

The flight was on time and without any issues whatsoever. The standouts were the extremely friendly, outgoing, and kind flight attendants. In addition, the excellent value of extra space and smooth service provided a comfortable and enjoyable journey. Also, since the limited food offering is displayed on the website, while disappointing, we arrived at the airport entirely prepared by bringing our food.

In summary, the flight scored 82 out of 100. So why do we still consider that to be excellent? The key elements that matter most to us—and we suspect many of you—like comfort, legroom, aircraft, and service—were handled exceptionally well, making the overall experience highly satisfying in spite of the two notable deficiencies in online check-in and food.

We welcome your input and hearing your own experiences.