We flew to Kauai last July and this article is totally accurate! Even riding the golf cart only reduced the distance by about half. The Lihue gate is the very last one in the terminal so add that distance. Then the walk from the drop off for the golf cart when returning still leaves a long walk to the baggage pickup and then there’s another long walk to the hotel shuttle pickup point. And as the article points out, there are almost no food options once you get to the terminal – including plain coffee only from one vendor. I told my husband that we can still fly Hawaiian, but definitely Not from LAX. We have to fly to a departure city anyway, so we’ll pick another one. It’s just a total mess!
Longtime reader, BTW – Mahalo for all your info!
I could not agree more with the author of this article. It’s absolutely ridiculous that anyone would need to walk more than a mile to get to their gate. Especially at LAX. There are no food courts open near the HA gates and there are no stores near the gates, except for a small coffee shop.
I switched to using American Airlines because Hawaiian gave no warning and late at night, it’s not safe walking that far in any airport.
I did this journey from LAX to Maui in July with 2 kids (1st time flyers) and they Hated the airport experience because of all the walking and mom not knowing where to go….
I flew into LAX airport from Oahu on Hawaiian Air for a short trip to be w family–and the information on this article is absolutely correct! Although I am a senior thankfully I am in shape and took that Verry brisk walk to baggage claim area ( was more like 20 minutes–and at one point we had no other choice but to walk down 2 flights of stairs ( w/ my carry on luggage in hand). Hope this is resolved by my next trip to LAX in December!😊
Wow! We just experienced this and it was a nightmare! I’m not exaggerating. My husband, 82, is in good health, but this was not something we were expecting. It’s not just the distance, which is significant; it’s up, then down….then up again! Then an escalator, only to turn around and go down again. One escalator wasn’t working, which meant no reprieve from walking. Not one golf cart offered a ride. Not one. We took the 11:00 am flight to Kona. Even the hot Kona airport is better than this. And the return flight lands around midnight, so a long walk to claim luggage and grab your ride. Hawaiian Airlines must’ve lost a lottery or something. I prefer Hawaiian, but if we return, I’ll be looking at other airlines.
As a rule, I will avoid LAX if possible. I flew into LGB this past July and it was beautiful.
Departed via LAX on Alaska on a Saturday morning. Traffic was a nightmare and it took forever to get to Terminal 6. The bag check lines were outrageous. The TSA lines were also long but moved at a pretty good pace. LAX is just a cluster …
Longbeach airport is a delight! Peaceful, tranquil, easy access to TSA. The antithesis to LAX. Traffic to and from is much better too. Onward travel via American, Delta and Southwest as well. Highly recommended.
LAX HA has never been user friendly. Check in and baggage to security was always with no help from staff. I’ve moved over to Alaska Air for airfare, food and service.
Itsdefinitely fun the wife and I did it earlier this year. from the terminal it’s about a 20 minute walk feels like it’s never gonna end
We flew to Kauai last July and this article is totally accurate! Even riding the golf cart only reduced the distance by about half. The Lihue gate is the very last one in the terminal so add that distance. Then the walk from the drop off for the golf cart when returning still leaves a long walk to the baggage pickup and then there’s another long walk to the hotel shuttle pickup point. And as the article points out, there are almost no food options once you get to the terminal – including plain coffee only from one vendor. I told my husband that we can still fly Hawaiian, but definitely Not from LAX. We have to fly to a departure city anyway, so we’ll pick another one. It’s just a total mess!
Longtime reader, BTW – Mahalo for all your info!
Hi Holly.
Thanks so much for your first comment, and for being a regular reader. We appreciate it!
Aloha.
I could not agree more with the author of this article. It’s absolutely ridiculous that anyone would need to walk more than a mile to get to their gate. Especially at LAX. There are no food courts open near the HA gates and there are no stores near the gates, except for a small coffee shop.
I switched to using American Airlines because Hawaiian gave no warning and late at night, it’s not safe walking that far in any airport.
I did this journey from LAX to Maui in July with 2 kids (1st time flyers) and they Hated the airport experience because of all the walking and mom not knowing where to go….
I flew into LAX airport from Oahu on Hawaiian Air for a short trip to be w family–and the information on this article is absolutely correct! Although I am a senior thankfully I am in shape and took that Verry brisk walk to baggage claim area ( was more like 20 minutes–and at one point we had no other choice but to walk down 2 flights of stairs ( w/ my carry on luggage in hand). Hope this is resolved by my next trip to LAX in December!😊
Wow! We just experienced this and it was a nightmare! I’m not exaggerating. My husband, 82, is in good health, but this was not something we were expecting. It’s not just the distance, which is significant; it’s up, then down….then up again! Then an escalator, only to turn around and go down again. One escalator wasn’t working, which meant no reprieve from walking. Not one golf cart offered a ride. Not one. We took the 11:00 am flight to Kona. Even the hot Kona airport is better than this. And the return flight lands around midnight, so a long walk to claim luggage and grab your ride. Hawaiian Airlines must’ve lost a lottery or something. I prefer Hawaiian, but if we return, I’ll be looking at other airlines.
The worst part of our travels was Hawaii air at lax. Not sure I will use them again unless they do something to help move passengers better. Thanks
As a rule, I will avoid LAX if possible. I flew into LGB this past July and it was beautiful.
Departed via LAX on Alaska on a Saturday morning. Traffic was a nightmare and it took forever to get to Terminal 6. The bag check lines were outrageous. The TSA lines were also long but moved at a pretty good pace. LAX is just a cluster …
Longbeach airport is a delight! Peaceful, tranquil, easy access to TSA. The antithesis to LAX. Traffic to and from is much better too. Onward travel via American, Delta and Southwest as well. Highly recommended.
LAX HA has never been user friendly. Check in and baggage to security was always with no help from staff. I’ve moved over to Alaska Air for airfare, food and service.
I would rather jam a stick in my eye than fly out of LAX.