Fly first class on Hawaiian Airlines’ longest domestic flight

One of the coolest things about being an AvGeek is finding unusual routes or products to explore. Some of the longest domestic routes in the United States are between the East Coast and Hawaii, with longer trip lengths than many overseas international routes.

United Airlines, Delta Air Lines and Hawaiian Airlines (now part of Alaska Airlines Group) all operate nonstop flights to Honolulu from the New York area, with some flights lasting more than 11 hours. At 4,983 miles, the flight from New York’s John F. Kennedy International Airport (JFK) (operated jointly by Delta Air Lines and Hawaiian Airlines) is slightly longer than the 4,962-mile flight from Newark Liberty International Airport (EWR), making the former the longest domestic flight. Delta Air Lines and Hawaiian Airlines operated longer flights between Boston and Honolulu, but both airlines discontinued those services last year.

I have flown Delta Air Lines from JFK International Airport to Honolulu Daniel Inouye International Airport (HNL), but recently I had the opportunity to try Hawaiian Airlines’ service.

I thought the service on the flight to Honolulu (HA829) was one of the best I have ever experienced. The seats were a little dated and rough around the edges, but still comfortable for an 11-hour journey.

There’s some good news to look forward to in those seats: Hawaiian Airlines and Alaska Airlines just announced that Hawaiian Airlines’ fleet of 24 wide-body Airbus A330-200s will receive a comprehensive cabin refresh starting in 2028. The new interior will feature huge upgrades, including new seats, carpeting and lighting, as well as a new high-definition in-flight entertainment system. The front of the plane will feature new suites (which Hawaiian sells as first class on domestic flights but is equivalent to international business class seats) and a new premium economy cabin.

But, back to the current product.

Check-in and boarding

Hawaiian Airlines and Alaska Airlines flights are now departing from JFK Terminal 8. This is the American Airlines and Oneworld terminal, which makes sense since Alaska Airlines is a Oneworld partner and Hawaiian Airlines is expected to become a full alliance member after being acquired by Alaska Airlines parent company in 2024.

Alaska Airlines and Hawaiian Airlines share a set of check-in counters. As a First Class passenger, I have access to the First Class and Atmos Status channel. When I checked in, there was no line, but a few minutes later a Hawaiian Airlines employee showed up. (I was early.) When they did, it only took me a few minutes to get my boarding pass and make my way down the TSA precheck lane.

I had access to the Greenwich Lounge before my flight. Those like me who have flown over 2,000 miles in premium cabins with lie-flat seats have access to this lovely lounge operated in conjunction with British Airways.

It was still early and Terminal 8 was not crowded. It’s a 10-minute walk to Gate 47, where friendly gate staff are waiting. A Hawaiian Airlines gate agent got a Hawaiian vibe by wearing a flower behind her ear.

My 8:30am flight was on time and I quickly started boarding ship N384HA around 7:50am.

My flight was blocked on the westbound route for approximately 10 hours and 52 minutes.

How does it feel on the boat?

The Hawaiian Airlines A330 has 18 first-class seats in a 2-2-2 configuration. Although there are no doors, each pair is located in a kind of self-contained pod. My seat is 3H, in the last row of first class, next to the aisle.

The cabins are decorated in tropical colors including light blue and dark brown. Behind the first-class cabin, there is a wall covered with dots of small lights. Each seat is 21 inches wide and spaced approximately 76 inches apart.

Ambient lighting after takeoff adds to the island ambience.

Side-by-side seating means window passengers almost have to step over the aisle passenger to use the toilet or move around the cabin. However, there is a narrow space between the aisle seat’s footrest and the aisle, which prevents the window seat passenger from having to straddle the sleeping passenger in the aisle seat.

There is a sliding privacy partition for travelers to use without recognizing their seats.

There is a large blanket and mattress on each seat. This blanket is from Noho Home, a Hawaiian home decor company.

A tray table pulls out of the center console.

You may have noticed in the photo above that there’s also a screen stand that pops out of the center console. This is an in-flight entertainment system that offers preloaded movies, music, TV shows and games via iPad.

There are 33 new releases alone. I had the pleasure of seeing several short films from the Hawaii International Film Festival. Starlink Wi-Fi is free and deserves special praise. I’ve never had better Wi-Fi, even across the ocean. I enjoyed download speeds of 402 Mbps and upload speeds of nearly 56 Mbps. Wow.

The mattress is a real differentiator as even many international business class seats do not come with a mattress. I find it really improves sleep quality.

When the seat is fully reclined, there is a small bench that becomes part of the lie-flat bed. As you can see in the photo below, there is some wear on the seat.

You can tilt the seat by moving the steering wheel on the side of the seat. A small section of the seat rises to meet the footrest ledge.

There are various cubbies in the seats for storing items, but some tray-style racks can only store soft items like blankets.

There are also outlets at several locations inside the pod: two USB ports and an AC power port.

Rather than providing first-class passengers with a full set of toiletries, flight attendants handed out empty toiletries after takeoff and then offered passengers a variety of toiletry options, including facial spray, lotion, lip balm, eye masks, socks and pens.

There is a bathroom in the front of the first class cabin near the pilot. The Hawaiian flowers and leaves are a nice touch, as are the Lolii amenities, the airline’s personal skin care line.

There is a small cabin at the back of first class with seats with extra legroom. This is a very private cabin with only two rows, so these seats are a good choice.

Economy class has a 2-4-2 layout with seats at the front of each section with some extra legroom. There are a total of 68 such seats on the aircraft. Hawaiian Airlines sells these products under the Extra Comfort name. There are 192 seats in the regular economy class.

This layout in economy class means that if you can find a pair of window seats, you’ll likely get a more comfortable ride.

food and drink

You won’t go hungry on Hawaiian Airlines’ longest flight.

Matthew was the flight attendant working my aisle and offered drinks before departure. The service he provided was probably the best I have ever received on American Airlines. Matthew, Bobby and Autumn worked in business class and the service they provided was friendly and attentive without being too formal.

Before the delay, flight attendants offered a choice of mai tai, water, sparkling wine, or POG (passion orange guava) juice, all served in real glasses.

Hot towel service is provided after takeoff. Beverage service containing macadamia nuts was quickly followed.

My seatmate drank a small bottle of Prosecco from Mionetto.

As a main course, passengers can choose between a mushroom omelette or a continental breakfast. Both meals come with fresh fruit and a variety of pastries. I opted for the continental breakfast which, although underwhelming, was substantial.

This is what the omelette looked like when I had it on the flight back.

Snacks were provided throughout the flight and Matthew was constantly checking on passengers, refilling drinks and making sure everyone was satisfied. Snacks available from the kitchen include Maui-style potato chips and Hawaiian pretzels.

Before landing, passengers enjoyed a first course of Asian salad with soy and citrus vinaigrette, as well as BBQ braised beef or Asian vegetable curry. I ordered beef and it was delicious. All served on a tray, along with tiramisu crunch.

The overall quality of the food was good, filling, and the variety of meal services made the long flight pass quickly.

Hawaiian Airlines A330 services

Again I thought the onboard service was excellent. From the gate agents to the flight attendants, the employees seemed excited to work on this fun route for Hawaiian Airlines.

Book the longest flights on Hawaii Airlines

First class on this flight isn’t cheap, with a one-way fare of up to $3,100 or 200,000 Alaska Airlines Atmos bonus points. Coach prices start at $565 or 44,000 points.

Over the years, I’ve found this trip to be much cheaper on Hawaiian Airlines and Delta on the same route, so I recommend setting up a Google Flight Alert to see if you can find cheaper dates.

If you’re looking for tons of Atmos reward points (the joint loyalty program for Alaska Airlines and Hawaiian Airlines passengers), consider signing up Atmos™ Rewards Summit Visa Infinite® Credit Card. Spend $4,000 within 90 days of account opening to receive a welcome bonus of 80,000 bonus points and a Global Companion Award of 25,000 points.

bottom line

Despite the obsolescence of its domestic first class cabin, Hawaiian Airlines’ longest U.S. route is still a great way to fly to paradise. Hawaiian Airlines will eventually overhaul these beautiful A330s, including their domestic first-class seats, but until then, they remain a solid lie-flat option on long-haul flights to Hawaii. The seats were great for sleeping, and the fun amenities and friendly flight attendants more than made up for some scratched seats.

Unique Hawaiian branding and warm aloha attitude make it an unforgettable way to fly to Hawaii from the East Coast.

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