Hawaiian Airlines

I wasn't expecting much because my ticket from Honolulu to LA was only $172! After flying from Auckland to Honolulu and receiving nothing but water I was bowled over when we were given a complimentary snack box beverages and even a complimentary mai-tai. The entertainment required a 10 dollar fee and since I did not have my own headset an additional 3 dollars bought a headset. The attendants were lukewarm.

LAS-HNL-ITO. It is amazing how things change over 12 months. At LAS there are too few check-in staff. Bag drop amazingly can take 30 minutes. So much for on-line check-in and printing boarding passes. On board they still have A330s with seat back screens but that is about all. The choice of viewing available without payment is pathetic. There is no longer even a snack provided for what is quite a long flight instead they want you to buy dismal snacks from the back galley. There is the walk between terminals at HNL and then a fair short flight to Hawaii. Coming back we paid for first class on the short flight. That was good. Bags flew free and Mai Tais are available. The main flight? Dire. No food screens keep trying to get money. I am through with HA. There is no difference now between HA and other carriers I will just use the best schedule at the best price.

HNL-KON-OGG-HNL. Inter-island service is fantastic very comfortable. Every time we were asked by check-in staff whether we wanted emergency exit as I am very tall whilst flights are short as soon as we took off a tasty local fruit drink was offered. I was so impressed I will try them long haul next time hopefully they add Melbourne to their Brisbane and Sydney destinations in Australia.

BNE-HNL-SEA. Check-in at BNE was easily the slowest I have experienced anywhere - terrible. The check-in staff at BNE are obviously local contractors who couldn't even tell me if I needed to change terminals at Honolulu ! Very poor directions from ground staff at HNL as to how to get to domestic flight. Aircraft was clean comfortable and seat space seemed quite OK. Staff on board are excellent and very friendly. Ground staff need a good shaking up. Meals only so-so. Lousy in-flight entertainment I simply didn't bother. I would fly again if they could trim their prices a bit but if cabin staff should ever fail me I wouldn't be back.

JFK-HNL-JHM-HNL-JFK. Excellent trip in all respects. JFK-HNL leg was on a new A330. Economy seats are 32" pitch more than most US carriers. That extra inch makes a difference on a 10-11 hour flight. Two free meals were served by hard-working and attentive staff along with several drink services. Yes the first bag cost $35 but Hawaiian checked it through from JFK to West Maui even though that flight was on Island Air and I never touched the luggage until I reached my final destination. I enjoyed these flights so much that I have already reserved another JFK-HNL-KOA-HNL-JFK trip for this coming July. Since I booked so early I was able to snag row 13 which is in the small quiet section behind Business Class.

My wife and I flew BNE-HNL-BNE 767 just prior to Christmas and returned early January 2013. Flights were on time and staff efficient and helpful. The service side is a let down they say we are a full service airline but there is no choice with meals and very limited drinks service. The seats are reasonable for someone my size 6ft 2 but I would like better entertainment than a digiplayer. If we were planning on returning to Honolulu I would think about upgrading to business.

Easily the most uncomfortable flight I have taken in the last 40 years. Seat pitch is so tight I was just barely able to hold the inflight magazine between my chest and the seatback in front of me and I am not oversized. Fortunately they are usually on time the crews are pleasant enough and bags are delivered quickly. Would never fly this carrier again if there were another way to get from HNL to the other islands. Their seating brings new meaning to the phrase cattle car.

SYD-HNL-OGG-HNL-SYD in December 2012. A330-200 between Sydney and Honolulu and B717 between Honolulu and Maui. All flights on time. On A330 I would advise taking the $75 upgrade to a bulkhead seat - particularly row 11 as its right behind Business class and in a mini cabin of only 3 rows. If travelling overnight I'd pay for economy and upgrade on check-in online to Business if available. Best thing about the flights was the excellent service and the prompt appearance of baggage at the carousel. Food was good drinks plentiful. Pay TV option was a bit much but we read. I joined their FF program before I booked - for only $120 it was worth it! Business check-in express pass through customs lounge access it's kind of like the Qantas Club. You also get priority boarding which was very useful. Hawaiian's aircraft on the Sydney to Honolulu route are all brand new A330s.

OAK-OGG-KOA KOA-OGG-SJC. This was my first experience on Hawaiian and it may very well be my last. On the Maui-San Jose flight Hawaiian screened a movie featuring graphic violence on the big screen in front of a crowd that included numerous young children. Hawaiian cancelled our flight rebooked us with a ridiculous routing involving two plane changes and neglected to inform us. I only discovered this when I went on-line to check the flight time. In the process of shifting our itinerary Hawaiian messed up the seat assignments and split up our family. Correcting these mistakes cost me considerable time.

Flight from Seattle to Honolulu in an old Boeing 767 which was 26 years old. Crew was nice but service was normal. Seats were broken and legroom was ok lavatories showed their age and had a bad smell. Free food service that is not normal on us-carriers. Food was enough and the quality was fair. Took some time in Honolulu until we reached the gate almost 20 minutes after landing.