In two weeks, we will board Hawaiian Airlines flight HA21 from Los Angeles to Honolulu. It is one of the last Dreamliner flights still operated fully by Hawaiian before Alaska takes over. We booked the ticket on September 28 for a $237 economy fare plus 25,000 miles each way. The upgrade was confirmed instantly when we called the Hawaiian Airlines call center. Days later, however, that option was no longer available. The change took effect September 30, ending a program Hawaii flyers had counted on for years.
25,000-Mile upgrades are gone.
Hawaiian’s long-running upgrade program shut down when the airline’s loyalty system merged into Alaska’s on October 1. Flyers can no longer move from economy to lie-flat First Class using miles. Only full award bookings remain, and those now price dynamically.
Frequent travelers felt the loss immediately when they saw there was no replacement. What had been one of the simplest, most generous airline upgrades vanished overnight.
We covered how award flights overall got more expensive in Hawaii Award Flights Just Got 50% More Expensive: What Changed. The upgrade path, though, was different, and it ended on September 30.
Why it was different.
Hawaiian allowed upgrades from any paid fare, even the cheapest. That was rare in the airline world. Alaska’s replacement requires more costly fares. Under Hawaiian, it was $237 plus 25,000 miles, much less costly for the same seat. Not only that, but we also earn Atmos miles on this flight, because at its core it is a paid, not mileage ticket. Perhaps that’s another reason Hawaiian was going out of business so quickly.
Our last upgrade on Hawaiian.
We saved screenshots of the confirmation because it already feels historic. Our booking confirmed seats 4A and 4C on the Dreamliner’s lie-flat cabin. That includes pre-departure mai tais, a full meal, and the quiet of a cabin that still feels like Hawaii in the air.
What replaced it.
Alaska upgrades now demand higher fares. Delta, United, and partner programs still sell Hawaii First Class for miles, but at three to five times the cost. Details are in Hawaii Award Flights Just Got 50% More Expensive: What Changed.
Alaska now sets the prices for the same Hawaii flights. This week, flight HA 1 from Los Angeles to Honolulu shows 26,500 points for Main and 115,000 points for First Class. The same flight sells for $237 in Main and $2,611 in First Class.
Only Alaska elites qualify for complimentary space-available upgrades, and those clear infrequently on Hawaii routes. For most travelers, the days of turning a low-fare ticket into a lie-flat seat for about $400 are over.
The end of an era.
We locked in our upgrade just before it was gone. By October 1, it was over. The era of affordable Hawaii First Class through miles has ended.
Did you ever use Hawaiian’s 25,000-mile upgrade? Tell us what it meant to you in the comments below.
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I know some locals who will be happy that tourism will end up dropping off because the airlines are going to be pricing the ability to get to the islands out of reach for many, and with the new green tourist tax and fees, it will be almost 20% added to daily room rates, projected to rise 1% a year. The islands need a reset anyway. Why come here and be treated like jerks when you can travel cheaper and be treated far better somewhere else?
I’m switching to United from now on even their interisland fares are getting rediculous
“that’s another reason Hawaiian was going out of business so quickly.”
BOH points out that status and mileage flyers did not “Earn” upgrades and the airlines realize that losing money is not a sustainable business model. No more handouts, the so-called “Elites” will pay like everyone else.
Deal with it.
Aloha BOH. Indeed I will miss the 25k mile upgrade. I used it as often as I could on the SFO/HNL route. It usually equated to a value of 2¢ to 2.5¢ per mile (calculated on the difference between the cost of a first class ticket and the Main Cabin ticket). And, travelling on a revenue ticket meant I still earned Hawaiian Miles. Those were the days … now just a memory.