Hawaiian Airlines

Last month our family flew on Hawaiian Airlines to and from Los Angeles.

It was the first time in YEARS that I flew on Hawaiian (I used to work for another airline, so I'd usually only fly on the airline I worked for), so I was eager to see how much had changed in the past few years.

DH booked his trip through work since he was traveling on business, and I booked my travel via the Hawaiian Airlines website.

It was quick and easy, and then we called Reservations to add our infant son to the reservation, and to change DH's seat so he would be sitting next to us (we were unable to change his seat online due to his reservation being booked through a travel agency).

Prior to the date of departure, within 24 hours, I checked us all in online and printed all of our boarding passes.  I even paid for a checked bag online!  Note: An infant boarding pass did print out as well, however when I checked-in online for our return, none of our boarding passes could print out.  When I called the Hawaiian Airlines number that was displayed on the screen, the agent was very helpful in trying to figure out why I couldn't print out boarding passes, but ultimately she said she thought it had something to do with the infant on our record and we'd have to go and check-in and get our boarding passes at the ticket counter. 

Upon arrival to the airport, I was amazed at how different the check-in lobby looked.

I searched for the web-check in baggage drop-off sign, but couldn't find it, so I asked an agent for assistance and she directed me to the Step 1 kiosk and helped me get my baggage tags.

Once my bag was tagged and sent through screening, we were on our way to the gate.

It's a pretty far walk from check-in to the gate (or gate to baggage claim) - about 15 minutes, but there's also the Wiki-Wiki Shuttle available to catch if desired.

While waiting at the gate, the boarding agent tagged our gate-check items (stroller and car seat) ahead of time, which I thought was a great idea since it saved a lot of time once boarding started (this did not happen on our return).

Snack/Food/Beverages:
A packet of snack mix was served - it had lots of pretzels and some crackers in it.  I thought it was better than a plain pack of pretzels.

Both ways we had the complimentary in-flight meal - the Breakfast Burrito with a muffin.

To put it nicely, the burrito was not the greatest.  The eggs were mushy and it just didn't taste very well.  Perhaps if it was served with a packet of hot sauce or even ketchup, it would've tasted a bit better.

The muffin (I can't remember the exact flavor) was actually pretty good - tasty and moist.

I really liked how throughout the flight the Flight Attendants often went down the aisles asking if passengers wanted water.

In-Flight Entertainment:
We rode on the Airbus 330, and each seat is equipped with In-Seat Entertainment.  You can purchase movies or TV shows to watch (headsets provided free of charge), and they even offer packages for several movies/TV shows at a low price (we ended up purchasing the Keiki Club package for $4.99 on our return flight and thought it was a great deal).

Comfort/Service:
A former co-worker of mine who now works for HA warned me that the Airbus is very uncomfortable, but I didn't think the seats were that bad at all.

Despite having web check-in problems for our return flight, and having to wait to deplane because of an inoperable jetway and also having to wait for our gate-checked items upon our arrival in Honolulu, overall I thought service was great.  From the Reservations Agents, to the Customer Service Agents, to the Flight Attendants, we were treated with the Aloha Spirit.

I'm sure we'll be traveling on Hawaiian again in the near future!