Review of Delta Air Lines flight Honolulu → Los Angeles in Domestic First

Transit in Honolulu

We had a fairly long transit of around 4H in HNL before our next flight to LAX.
The FIDS:

HA 332:

DL 753:

Delta Sky Lounge HNL

We went to the Delta Sky Lounge for the layover. The lounge is blind and didn't change compared to the year before but is still a nice place to wait a couple of hours.

Some magazines:

The buffet is looking pretty good and tempting:

Hot food:

Soup:

Rice:

Drinks:

The whole cutlery is, unfortunately, plastic only:

Hard drinks are available at the bar0
Here's my morning selection:

Both cakes were excellent, one was papaya and the other one was pineapple.

As we had plenty of time to kill, my mother and I went to the japanese garden.

HNL japanese garden and spotting

On our way we saw this 763:

And then went down to the garden:

Here it is:

We had a nice walk:

The place is really serene:

Fishes:

It was hard to believe you are in the middle of an international airport:

There is also a botanical garden part:

A bit more walking:

The weather was awesome:

Another DL 763:

And for us it was time to go to our plane, here it is:

Gate 28 today:

the flight

Boarding started on time, the plane was full.

Door handle:

The cabin:

Again the standard domestic first pillow and blanket.

Cleaning was really poor, there were left over in the seat pocket, in the foot rest, even an old menu.

Skymagazine and seat pitch:

On time push back:

More 763, even one without winglets:

748 KL:

Our flight was slightly longer than usual as we had to make a light detour to avoid thunderstorms:

ANA behind us:

Alaska in front of us:

HA 332:

HA 717:

We crossed runway 26R-8L:

Firetraining zone:

You can play golf between the runways.

Another 717:

And our turn:

ANA is still behind us:

Taking off:

The A seat was chosen on purpose :)

It was amazing. Honolulu:

Diamond Head:

Waikiki beach:

Closer to Diamond Head:

Beautiful!

With the winglet:

The whole crater:

Leaving Oah'u:

This is Haunauma Bay, a beautiful snorkling place:

Bye Honolulu!

A last view over Haunauma Bay:

Sandy Beach, very well known for its high surf:

Makapu 'u Point ,  the small island is Kaohikaipu the biggest one being Manana:

Heading east:

Service started with a hot towel:

And a mai tai as aperitive. I used the free messaging to text to some friends:

Reaching cruising altitude:

The choices today were braised beef or salmon. Beef for me:

Hot bread was offered:

It was pretty good but again, this is a dish I already had last year, outbound to OGG from LAX, same catering, the only change was the brand of the ice cream.
A tea to conclude:

Then I took a small nap:

Full flat of course but with my own pillow :)

An hour later:

Snacks are then offered:

The sun sets:

A magical moment:

Almost at destination:

LA:

We parked close to this 753:

And on our way back to the Marriott LAX:

Via T3:

kaua'i bonus second part

You may remember Hanalei Valley on the last bonus, under the rain. As promised, here under the sun:

It remembered me Bali and Indonesia:

It's very green and peaceful:

A beautiful sunset from my room:

Loved the colors:

This is Salt Pond Beach the beach we liked the most. Not to many people, showers and life guards. A nice bay to snorkel or just swim:

The rocks that protect the bay:

We saw turtles each day we were there:

And even sea lions:

So cute:

Spouting Horn, another must see:

Tree Tunnel Road:

More about this beautiful island on the next FR!