48 reviews
Hello Everyone,
After nearly 3 years of not flying due to the pandemic, I finally got on the plane and took a trip to Sydney, Australia. Rather than flying the usual overnight direct from SFO to SYD on United, I ended up taking a day flight from SJC to SYD with a stopover in Honolulu as this was a much cheaper option. So this trip report is for the first leg from San Jose to Honolulu. I last flew this route back in 2007 on their 767's and how I miss the 767's!
Got up early to go to the San Jose Airport as the flight was scheduled to depart at 8am and thankfully it the airport is not far away from home.
Still dark outside even when I arrived at the gate.
Will be departing from Gate 4.
As the sun came up, now can see the Airbus A321N which will take me to HNL. This was also the first time being on an A321 let alone on a NEO.
Once on the plane took my seat 14J which is in Extra Comfort. Really like the extra legroom.
Also really like the mood lighting in the cabin. Reminds me of the days of Virgin America! Also, the boarding music gives a nice welcoming relax feel. To experience the boarding music, you'll have to watch the Youtube video.
After pushback, headed towards Runway 12L. Typically takeoffs and landings occur on the 30's which occur about 90% of the time. However, on this particular day, the winds came from the south thus taking off on the 12's.
After takeoff, plane looped around to clear above traffic going into SFO.
Here you can see Moffett Field and the Bay.
During meal time, we were served this bagel roll with cookies and a drink. The bagel roll was a huge disappointment. Not very good at all. While Hawaiian is the only airline that serves complementary meals, to be honest, this meal was very underwhelming.
For inflight entertainment, you had to access on your own personal device. I much prefer having an IFE in each seat rather than pulling out your own device. I did not watch any movies but just watched the flight tracker.
Soon enough land appears and we were on the right downwind leg.
As you can see the view is just spectacular! Can see Honolulu Airport, Hickam Air Force Base and Pearl Harbor.
Beautiful approach. Can see the reef runway far into the distance and also Kalaeloa Airport.
Hickam Air Force Base with F-22 Raptor!
Landing on Runway 8L
Parked at the Gate. The Hawaiian livery is simply beautiful!
Overall the flight was pleasant. Though I wish Hawaiian would change the food offerings. For the early departure, it would be best to serve some breakfast items, yogurt, fruit, croissant. The bagel roll simply doesn't cut it. Also, the experience would be better on a widebody with more space and room to move around.
3 Comments
Thanks for sharing!
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