Honolulu Airport

I have flown in and out of Honolulu a few times and it reminds me of arriving in a car park in a 80's shopping centre. Its true it has a laid back Hawaiian feel about it. But I do think the state gov could spend money on a refurb. It is an international gateway from Asia South Pcific. Restaurants cafesduty free internet etc! The check in area at the inter island terminal is a mess with 2 security check points both for mainland and international flights. So if your on a Hawaiian flight you must stay in the queue which ends outside the door of the terminal at peak times with no signage. Make it a true aloha welcome!

Waiting 2 hours to get your passport to be stamped by the US Immigration is unacceptable. Our flight is arrived at the same time with 3 Asian Jumbos. The immigration was crowded and they couldn't cope with the high number of pax. Thanks to a ground staff who directed us "Australian passengers arrived with Hawaiian Airlines" to the US citizen entry point then we were out in 10 minutes. We almost missed our connection flight to Kahului. On the way back to Sydney all was OK. We were warned by a friendly domestic terminal staff if wanted to eat something before we caught the shuttle bus to international terminal we should eat at domestic terminal as the international terminal has very limited to offer to eat or to shop anything. Very basic international terminal. The airport looks tired like Kahului Airport.

I may have an answer to Pam Frank's query. I would have to give the Supreme Order of the Jobsworths Award to the staff who operate the USDA machine at Honolulu airport for American Airlines. This is a joint award given also to the person who refused to let us put our hold bags through the other USDA machine being used not more than 30 feet away as we were not travelling with "her" airline!. When we arrived at this airport for our flight back to LAX there was a sign near this machine informing pax that this machine operated at 5.30 am and 10am. There was nothing else there indicating where pax should line up to get their hold luggage x-rayed so of course when said staff arrived at 10am (and not a minute beforehand) to start work there were three lines of pax and total chaos. So what do said staff do - they started to shout at the pax because of the disorderly lines!. Very helpful not. Please do us all a favour and operate a proper queueeing system by having some poles set out and a sign saying "line starts here". That is not hard to do now is it?! Anyhow once hold bags had a sticker placed on them we made our way with our hold luggage over to the American airlines check in desk. Fortunately the woman we saw had some common sense and readily assisted us. After receiving our boarding passes we stood in line for the security checkpoint to open (they werent quite ready for us yet!). Once through there you are airside. I like Honolulu airport overall (its far better than practically all the other US airports I have visited) as its open to the elements and it has plenty of shops and restaurants catering to passengers needs. One last point - we flew at a time when the no liquids on planes rule had been introduced a few days prior. Two pax boarded our AA flight with drinks from the food court and no-one said anything at the gate! Makes a mockery of the whole exercise!

I can't understand why Honolulu airport security would not let our clients in the airport 4 hours earlier than their flight. When they arrived they were told they could not go in until 2 hours before this is strange because all the airlines tell you you must check in 3 hours prior to return to the mainland. They wanted to get a bite to eat first and be at the airport. Then when they asked about a rental car they were told to go stand in the middle of the highway and flag down one of the car rental companies. How rude and inconsiderate! I have never had anyone be turned away from an airport because they showed up earlier for their flight home I have been selling tickets for 30 years. This has put a x in the box for places I do not want to send my clients. Now we have to call all the people we have going on a group cruise and let them know just how inconvenient the Honolulu airport will be when they go to return home.

I'm originally from Hawaii live in Japan and fly the Narita-Honolulu route at least once a month usually on JAL. My comments about Honolulu's airport: except for the international departure terminal which has undergone a lot of renovation and has plenty of shops (though not much in the way of restaurant choices) the airport is definitely showing its age. While it's nice to have the open-air lobbies and terminals and the greenery that should characterize Hawaii's gateway stepping inside presents a gloomy poorly lit run-down plain-old dusty interior. Much of the airport looks as though people seldom use it. With the state budget in surplus and tourism up the local government really needs to look at making improvements beyond the duty-free shops catering to the Japanese visitor. Domestic (Hawaii-Mainland) terminals and gates are certainly far behind the clean bright mall-like atmosphere of many newer airports elsewhere. There were a lot of comments about immigration and customs. I have never had a problem (though Immigration booths are often understaffed) - usually getting from arrival gate through immigration and customs in no more than 10-15 minutes. It pains me to see people talking about rude staff in Honolulu especially - the very place the Aloha spirit is most needed.

The first problem as already explained by previous poster is the lack of adequate signals around the airport which prompts for common mistakes. Following our arrival the entire group of passengers got lost in its way to the baggage claim areas. Perhaps we made the mistake of not taking the "Wik-Wiki" transports but those vehicles were so slow. Security can be an issue especially with all the laws that protect the ecological environment of the island which is quite understandable. Still the achille's point of the airport is that is so far away from the city. The transport system from/and to the airport is frankly pathetic and don't be surprised if you wait 15 minutes for an overpriced cab.

After living in Honolulu for the better part of two years and making about a dozen trips to/from the mainland US I've conluded that HNL is one of the most antiquated "major" airports in the US. Check-in lines are often lengthy as most domestic flight departures are bunched n the early morning mid afternoon or late evening and are jumbo jets full with tourists. Security generally moves well but once inside you'll find nothing but a couple of sundries shops an archaic bookstore two dirty fast food restaurants and a dilapidated bar. Gate areas are straight out of the early 70s and are in bad need of a makeover/refurbishment. Like to chew gum on an airplane? Bring it ahead of time as it's not sold in the airport because it "makes a mess". Amazingly cigarettes are available wherever you turn presumably because they don't make a mess! When arriving domestically avoid the wiki-wiki ("express" in Hawaiian) buses and opt for the three minute walk to baggage claim. Be patient if you choose to take a taxi - a wait upwards of 20-30 minutes is not uncommon. In short HNL has a long way to go to catch up to other mainland and Asian airports.