Review of Hawaiian Airlines flight Honolulu Kailua in Domestic First

Airline Hawaiian Airlines
Flight HA308
Seat 2A
Aircraft Boeing 717-200
Flight time 00:45
Take-off 23 Oct 14, 18:50
Arrival at 23 Oct 14, 19:35
HA 48 reviews
KévinDC
By SILVER 3941
Published on 23rd January 2015
Hello everyone,

After much delay, welcome to the next installment in my series of flights to the Big Island of Hawaii. This very short flight from Honolulu to Kona is operated by a B717-200. HA is the 4th airline on which I've had the opportunity to fly a 717, the others being AirTran, Midwest Airlines, and most recently Delta.

The routing:

Washington-Reagan DCA - Los Angeles LAX, Alaska Airlines, B737-800. Economy
Los Angeles LAX - Honolulu HNL, Delta Air LInes, B757-300, First Class
Honolulu HNL - Kailua-Kona KOA, Hawaiian Airlines, B717-200, First Class [THIS REPORT]
Kailua-Kona KOA - Los Angeles LAX, Delta Air Lines, B757-200, First Class
Los Angeles LAX - Detroit Metro DTW, Delta Air Lines, B757-200, First Class [COMING SOON]
Detroit Metro DTW - Washington-Reagan DCA, Delta Air Lines, MD88, First Class [NO REPORT]

After a very good flight from LAX, we had a few hours to kill. As with all Domestic First flights, we didn't have access to a lounge, but HNL is a reasonably interesting airport with it's open air areas with gardens, and quiet sections int he terminal if you prefer to stay in the air conditionning. And there are good views of the tarmac for us planespotting geeks :-)

photo IMG_0741photo IMG_0742photo IMG_0743

Aloha!

photo IMG_0744photo IMG_0745photo IMG_0746

HA's new rgional subsidiary, Ohana Air. A great livery in the image of the parent company. Ohana means family in Hawaiian.

photo IMG_0748

HA B717

photo IMG_0751

Beautiful colors with the sunset.

photo IMG_0750

Boarding begins about 15 minutes late due to the late arrival of the inbound aircraft, but they sure did a good job of quick-turning the plane and we boarded quickly.
At first sight, the F cabin looks quite nice and intimate as there are only 2 rows.

The seats are plush and comfortable.

photo IMG_0753

View from my seat in 2A.

photo IMG_0754

The seat pitch is better than in most domestic First cabins. Certainly better than DL, known for it's tight pitch in F.

photo IMG_0755

Amother 717 nextdoor

photo IMG_0756

Safety Card, with a Hawaiian flair

photo IMG_0760photo IMG_0757photo IMG_0758

HA's inter-island network in the in-flight magazine.

photo IMG_0763

Despite the late start to the boarding process and a very full flight, we pushed back less than 5 minutes late. There is no pre-departure drink, I'm guessing due to the rushed boarding, or perhaps HA doesn't do PDBs on inter-island F. The FA did come by right after boarding, however, and asked us what we would like to drink after takeoff. We asked for Mai Tais naturally :-)

photo IMG_0762

Takeoff over Honolulu…these views would have been much nicer in the daylight.
Oddly the cabin lights stayed on during takeoff making night photography out the window difficult.



Our FA got up as soon as they were allowed and came through the cabin with snack mix then brought our Mai Tais.

photo IMG_2564

Plastic cups on the ground for PDBs I understand, but I'm not used to seeing them used in the air in F. Maybe it's because the flights are so short.

photo IMG_2565

The FA is very attentive and comes throug the canin several times to check in on passengers. We were able to have several drinks on this very short 35 minute flight.

The cabin in flight.

photo IMG_2563

The flight is so short that the seatbelt sign never came off.

Despite our late departure we arrive in Kona on time.

Last view of our 717.

photo IMG_0764

Thanks for reading this short report!

A few bonus pics of the Big Island. It really is a fantastic place.

Volcanic cliffs.

photo IMG_0769

Hawaii Volcanoes National Park. Unfortunately, we were not able to see any lava flows even though the house we rented was less than a mile from the current active flow. The police do a good job of blocking off the flow for safety reasons, which is understandable.



The Big Island is also famous for its coffee.

photo IMG_0807photo IMG_0812

Rainbow Falls, Hilo



Akaka Falls



North Hilo

photo IMG_0897
See more

Verdict

Hawaiian Airlines

6.8/10
Cabin9.0
Cabin crew8.0
Entertainment/wifi5.0
Meal/catering5.0

Honolulu - HNL

7.6/10
Efficiency7.5
Access7.5
Services8.0
Cleanliness7.5

Kailua - KOA

5.5/10
Efficiency7.0
Access5.0
Services5.0
Cleanliness5.0

Conclusion

Overall, a good first flight with Hawaiian.

Comfort: the seats are plush with good legroom.
Crew: Attentive and smiling. Very nice crew.
Catering: No PDB and drinks in plastic cups....meh

On-time arrival despite late departure. The HA ground staff in HNL did a good job of turning the aircraft quickly to make up time from the late arrival.

Information on the route Honolulu (HNL) Kailua (KOA)

Les contributeurs de Flight-Report ont posté 6 avis concernant 1 compagnies sur la ligne Honolulu (HNL) → Kailua (KOA).


Useful

La compagnie qui obtient la meilleure moyenne est Hawaiian Airlines avec 7.0/10.

La durée moyenne des vols est de 0 heures et 48 minutes.

  More information

8 Comments

If you liked this review or if you have any questions, don’t hesitate to post a comment below !
  • Comment 127581 by
    Esteban GOLD 19853 Comments
    Hi Kévin, thanks for sharing. As I just flew back from KOA two days ago, this brings good memories back.

    The seat pitch and the recline are definitively better than DL or any other US Carrier. I was really impressed about the comfort of this mini first cabin.

    Big Island is such a beautiful place. Seems that we more or less have seen the same things. ^^

    Within the 11 days my family and I stayed there, we circled the island twice :)
    • Comment 309139 by
      KévinDC TEAM SILVER AUTHOR 6668 Comments
      Yes, looks like we did very similar things...except I didn't get to do the Green sand beach. Some of our friends we were with went there and said it was awesome, but we went to walk in a lava field instead. Looking forward to seeing your report on KOA-HNL. Did you also go up the volcano to the observatory? It was freezing up there, but I didn't take any pics since it was night. Love the Big Island, can't wait to go back! Like you say it's so diverse and unique!
  • Comment 127909 by
    jetsetpanda 2283 Comments
    You guys know Hawaii better than I do and I sometimes get mistaken for a local :P

    Great FR as always Kevin. HNL airport is such a neat and special airport just because it's so open with unobstructed views of the tarmac. It reminds me of visiting the airport when I was a kid in MGA and back then there were no jetbridges.
  • Comment 131726 by
    Aeroman380 6 Comments
    Great report and bonus pictures! I liked reading your report. Did you stay in a house or hotel near the volcano park? or was it airbnb? I am thinking of getting a place close to the park so I can enjoy it and not have to rush to the otherside of the island hotels.
  • Comment 131727 by
    Aeroman380 6 Comments
    Where do you suggest to go for the coffee plants/beans?

Login to post a comment.