Hawaiian Airlines

Not Verified | We had booked 4 round trip tickets from Saturday to Saturday to Maui. Saturday morning when I check online to see if our flight was on time, I read that the flight had been cancelled. I called customer support to book another flight. The same flight, the next day was the next one available. Then the agent told me I had to pay for the flight on Sunday. I explained that I was booking the flight because the Saturday flight was cancelled. He would not listen, so I bought 4 more tickets. The following Saturday, I checked our returning flight and found that we were on standby, not reserved seats. This was after I had previously confirmed both flight. I could reserve the seats for $200 each. In other words, they extorted us for an additional $800. To add more insanity, the walk from the gate at LAX to the sidewalk is one mile. When I got home, I called my credit card company and had the charges I had made Saturday for the new flight cancelled. There was no dispute from Hawaiian Air, since what they had done is illegal. We visit Maui twice a year. I will never fly Hawaiian Airlines again!

✅ Trip Verified | Reason for leaving Hawaiian Airlines as a preferred carrier. In February of 2023, my wife and I decided to purchase tickets from Hawaii Airlines(HA) after learning our cat would only be allowed in the cabin on either Alaskan Airlines or Hawaiian Airlines. We had also made changes the year before placing this as one of our preferred airlines on our AMEX because we had used them a few times to go stateside. My wife felt unsettled in May with the ticket because it did not mention the cat on the ticket. So, she called the airlines to ensure our cat can fly in the cabin. She received confirmation and the cost for our cat Fred to fly. Post the conversation, she felt better about choosing HA as the preferred airline. On one occasion, we checked the HA webpage and noted they were changing their pet carrier dimensions. The pet carrier we owned prior was one inch larger, and since HA was making the changes effective June 2023, and we were flying until 20 July, we did not want to take any chances of having a tape measure come out and stop the cat from flying with us. So, we bought a new carrier to fit their new guidelines and started months in advance to get him acclimated to the new pet carrier. If you own pets, you understand this reason. Moves can be stressful enough on people, but when the animal does not have a place of refuge, it can be even more stressful. On the morning of 20 July, we went to the airport with eight bags and the cat. My wife was due to fly on HA 19 to San Diego, and I helped her move three bags containing all our clothes, along with our cat, into the Hawaiian Airlines departure terminal. My buddy then drove the kids and me to the Southwest terminal since NAVPTO could not get us on the same flight. I started unloading the truck, and I got a call from my wife crying, “They will not let Fred (cat) fly! They said he is too big and could not stand.” The cat was calm as a cucumber in his new kennel after a month of finally getting acclimated to it. We had one an inch bigger than the latest change HA made and my wife was just trying to get clarity. My buddy, who was dropping us off, brought his cat to Oahu two weeks prior from Sacramento on HA with a pet carrier which was the same as the one we chose to not use because of its size. So, we asked if he could get his carrier to fly with our cat. We also asked a friend to bring us their hard case pet carrier. Before their arrival, my wife went into the line and showed the bag turning on its side, unzips, and expands, allowing the cat to stand and just wanted to know if it would work. The lady said, "You cannot alter the carrier!" my wife calmly explained, "It is not altering it; it is just unzipping the side." Again, the rude lady stated you cannot alter the bag and no this will not work. Shortly after this, our friend brought the hard case pet carrier to fly the cat in the belly of the aircraft. Then the HA associate stopped my wife because she had a reservation for the cat to fly in the cabin. My wife was trying to explain she's moving to California to another HA associate, and the lady behind the counter rudely started chirping, “She started crying, thinking I would change my mind!” Who says that in the service department of Hawaiian Airlines? Apparently, it was ok for this lady to do so, and she was allowed to escalate the situation, which my wife was just trying to find out how she could fly with the cat in the cabin or get the cat off the island. FRUSTRATED!

Not Verified | 19 hours before flight couldn't check in online. Couldn't check in at kiosk. Counter rep tells me flight "might" be booked up. Gives me a boarding pass for a later departure (without informing me). I proceed to the initial gate Info from telescopes. Get to gate and my boarding pass doesn't work. They tell me I'm on plane for 6 hours later. I argue, they are calling my name, as I'm arguing and they are emailing me. I show my id, they tell me I'm on standby for a flight in 6 hours. They played me, gave my seat away right in front of me, said I checked in for the wrong flight, I explain the situation, and she tells me I was bumped to standby.

Not Verified | I have used them 2 times previous to this and had no problems, but I was scheduled to fly with them this October going to Maui then to Kaui but due to the horrific sad and devastating situation in Maui we are not able to go there and decided to make our vacation to Kaui only. I had opened a credit card with them and one of the perks was to get a 1/2 off companion pass in which we used on our first reservation, when I went to rebook my flight not only did the price of my tickets more than double in price but they penalized us by taking away our companion pass saying we already used it on one reservation and now because we had to rebook we would lose it. I spoke to a supervisor who gave me the worst customer service I have ever had with a airlines and said there was nothing they could do about companion pass it was just gone. Hawaiian airlines could care less about there customers and will mess you over in a second. I do not recommend them and will never use the airline again as well canceling their credit card.

Not Verified | I have been a loyal Hawaiian Airlines customer for over 30 years but today was terrible. I booked an interisland trip for my family 3 months in advance. I booked seats so my family could all sit together. Getting to Hilo was fine, everything went smooth no issues, which is why I always choose Hawaiian. However my flight home from Hilo was a joke. First off I went to the ticket counter to try and change my flight to am earlier one and the ticket agent wouldn't look up flights for me. He insisted that the only way I could change is by calling their call centre in the Philippines. I know this isn't true because they've done same day changes for me before with no issues. I decide to let it go and just keep our original flight. We come back a few hours later and the same guy changed my selected seats and had all of us, including my 3 year old daughter, sitting by separately. He took off his name tag so I didn't get his name. He wanted me to wait in line to be helped again. I couldn't wait another 20 mins so I went to the gate to fix this error. The guy at the gate desk Darryl was giving me attitude saying well it's only a short flight and infants cant sit in the 4th row because "there's an airbag." I've never heard this before and I don't care if the flight was 5 minutes long, my 3 year old daughter is not sitting be herself. So he begrudgingly sat me and my daughter together in the very last row and my wife and my other infant child sat somewhere else. If you want decent customer service look for another airline. I'd be willing to fly Southwest after this fiasco.

✅ Trip Verified | In my 50 years of flying this was my first trip with Hawaiian Airlines and it has been the worst experience ever. Started off with flight being cancelled to Kona, and needed to hang around airports until I got squeezed in somewhere. During this my seats I paid extra for were no longer assigned. On the way back my flight from Kona was cancelled and then the flight to Phoenix was cancelled. Again the seats I paid extra for were not assigned and then the luggage I had to pay for on-line when buying tickets had to be paid again, because, as explained to me, “the baggage fee is for a different flight”. They owe me money at this point, and I will never fly with this airline again.

✅ Trip Verified | Hawaiian Airlines cares little for its passengers because the airline holds a virtual monopoly over interisland travel in Hawaii. Customer service is almost non-existent. Hawaiian recently "upgraded" its check-in process, and merely created a confusing, time-consuming, and frustrating opportunity for its personnel to show disregard for passengers. The contempt does not end there. Almost without exception (in fairness, there are a few good apples), every Hawaiian Airlines employee from check-in to departure treats passengers as inconveniences rather than as revenue-paying guests of the airline. It would not take much for Hawaiian to improve its outward face substantially.

✅ Trip Verified | They canceled my flight last minute, which needs me to grab the last seat in the next flight. Still, they don't manage their boarding gate well and the flight needs to wait for an available boarding on the ground. Avoid this airline unless you have a world of time to spare. In comparison, flight experience and staff service are fair. But still, the airline makes side trips to another island in Hawaii very hard. Despite Hawaii being a holiday destination, the Hawaiian airline makes travelling in Hawaii a painful and stressful experience. Last thing to note: the Hawaiian airlines say that you can change your flight within Hawaii freely, that is not very true. Firstly, you cannot do it online, you can only by phone or in person at an airport. Second, if you have checked in luggage, you cannot change to an earlier flight. I am totally OK with additional fee for changing flight, but having unwritten rule for that is not OK for me.

✅ Trip Verified | Constant delays and cancellations with no recompense and shallow, “we’re sorry” texts and emails for extended delays. Delays and cancellations happen almost on a daily basis for this airline. If you can book via another carrier do so. Book another airline if possible.

✅ Trip Verified | HA 26 from Honolulu to PDX on July 11, 2023 was severely delayed and I received a travel voucher. I was unable to apply it a few days later and called and they told me to wait 3-5 business days and try again. I tried again today, July 19 and was again not able to apply it. I then called again and they say they are still unable to apply it on their end. I asked to speak with someone above them and they said they could not even put me in line to talk to a manager due to high call volume. I am now suspicious they are just trying to get me to give up and have no intention of making good on their voucher. This review does not apply to any of the rating areas below and I've defaulted to using ground service, though my review is specifically regarding customer service, for which I give them a 1/5. Overall score of 2/10 reflects that I actually did make it home eventually.