If we hadn’t received such a large number of comments on this topic about recent technology changes on Hawaiian Airlines, we might have let it slip by. How important can something seemingly so innocuous be? But in reality, it is a now a big part of good customer service. We find the features below on the Alaska Airlines website, which is currently trying to buy Hawaiian Airlines, as well as on competitor Southwest. But no more on Hawaiian.
Hawaiian drops low fare monthly calendar.
This was a feature guests loved. It showed the lowest fares possible on every day of the month. Now that it’s gone, here is a sample of the comments you left.
- Tanya: I miss the low-fare calendar like nothing else 😭😭😭😭
- Lynn: I can’t understand why they won’t reinstate the “Hold” option or the “fare calendar.” Those two things were invaluable.
- Bob: I have never been able to access the free companion airfare offer. I also have always used the monthly calendar to decide what day to travel on. I have recently stopped using the HA credit card so that I can get air miles with a carrier I can contact easily.
- Julie: How long will it take HA to clean up their act? Definitely bring back the useful calendar!
- Jim: Hoping they put the calendar back in. We are retired and can travel any day and stay for any length of time. It was great to be able to see fares for each day at a glance and be able to select the days with the lowest fares.
- Chris: Hoping they put the calendar back in. We are retired and can travel any day and stay for any length of time. It was great to be able to see fares for each day at a glance and be able to select the days with the lowest fares.
- Scott: Come on, HAL!! And where is the fare calendar?
- Brian: I almost always use the fare calendar to settle on my dates of travel, but now it has become tedious.
- Rose: Have they done away with the fare calendar?
How to replace the functionality of the Hawaiian Airlines low-fare calendar:
- Navigate to Google Flights. Here’s a sample of Google flights when selecting Los Angeles to Maui.
- Change the cities to your selection, and select Hawaiian Airlines only as the airline.
- Then click your proposed departure date for your trip. That will provide calendars by month of the lowest fares on Hawaiian Air based on any departure date. When you select a departure date, then you’ll see the lowest round-trip prices for the dates you have chosen. You can also search for one way flights.
- Keep refining your search, and if you’d like, use the track prices feature to be alerted to airfare changes for that route and for either general or specific dates.
- You can navigate directly to Hawaiian via Google Flights or just keep the results open so you can find the same flights on the Hawaiian website when you’re ready to book.
Fare Hold feature is still not functioning on Hawaiian.
Hawaiian Airlines removed the Fare Hold when it upgraded its reservation nearly a year ago. While that doesn’t appear to be returning, there is a glimmer of hope. As of today, the HA website still says the following: “As of April 7, 2023, fare-hold reservations are temporarily unavailable as we upgrade our systems, which will allow us to provide an enhanced experience to our guests.”
Fare hold alternative. Booking reservations on any airline will afford you twenty-four hours from the time of purchase to change your mind. That provides a built-in no-cost fare hold alternative.
Online changes and cancellations are still not available.
As of today, the website says, “To cancel your reservation, please call our Reservations Department. Cancellations cannot be done online.” Also, “To make changes to an existing ticket, please contact our Reservations Department. We will be implementing new, enhanced self-service flight changes on our website and app in the future.”
Will Hawaiian be making needed technology improvements prior to news about the Alaska Airlines purchase?
We can’t answer that with any assurance. When we asked Hawaiian Airlines’ executives that question in December, we weren’t given any confirmation that more changes would be completed prior to the acquisition time frame
We still believe Hawaiian Airlines intends to make improvements to its mobile app and website, seeking to address these and other issues and enhance its guest experience. Much of this is left over from their prior reservation system and In the aftermath of last year’s Hawaiian Airlines reservation system upgrade debacle.
At the present time, drawing comparisons with leading airline apps like Alaska, Delta, Southwest, and United, it’s evident what features travelers have come to expect. For instance, United’s app excels in rerouting and repricing, offering seamless management of complex itineraries in-app within seconds. In an ever more technological world, guests expect a range of such digital services from airlines, which are nonetheless complicated to develop, deliver, and maintain.
Please let us know your thoughts on the technology advancements at Hawaiian and other airlines flying to Hawaii.
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Just as annoying to me as a local are the emails and TV ads pitching low inter-island fares, yet when you to their site these are nowhere to be found…..
I understand historically these were often during the worst dayparts for flying, whether early in the AM or late in the PM all in an effort to balance capacity and fill seats. But to advertise them then for none to appear strikes me as unethical if not illegal….that is the real vanishing act…unless it was never there to begin with…
Hopefully not but not expecting to get the same Hawaiian hospitality the minute you get on the plane and fly Hawaiian Airlines. It puts a big smile on your face that you are on vacation. With the music and friendly service we never felt this with any other airlines. Crossing our fingers but it’ll be sad to lose the spirit!
Hawaiian now has a sign on their website that says “We are currently experiencing intermittent issues with booking flights. If you receive an error message while checking out, please try again later. If you need immediate assistance, please contact our Reservations Department at 1-800-367-5320. We apologize for the inconvenience. Mahalo.” Sheesh somebody is slacking at Hawaiian and this doesn’t bode well. Hopefully the merger with Alaska will go through…
Hawaiian is so difficult to book upgrades with points. You must make and pay for an economy reservation and then call the upgrade department to see if your booked flight qualifies for upgrades and how many points they charge. I have never been on the phone for less than 1.25 hours to accomplish this in the last ten years. Multiple holds and half the time I don’t receive an email confirmation within 48 hours and must call back again.
Someone at Hawaiian should study the Southwest web site.