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Los Angeles (LAX) – Honolulu (HNL)
DEP 10:00 AM ARR 14:00 PM
Duration: 6h 5m
Seat number: 3H FIRST
Aircraft: Airbus A330-200
Miles Redeemed: 40,000 HawaiianMiles + $5.60
The Verdict
- PROS: Lie-flat seats, plenty of legroom, friendly crew, Mai Tai pre-departure drink.
- CONS: No amenity kit, 2-2-2 configuration, overhead bins are small, except for the middle ones, no Wi-Fi, and seats show their age.
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| Hawaiian Airlines First Class A330-200 |
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Miles Booking
I used 40,000 HawaiianMiles plus $5.60 taxes and fees for booking a one-way flight from LAX to Maui in First Class. There are no additional miles required to add another island to the itinerary.
- Los Angeles (LAX) – Honolulu (HNL)
- Honolulu (HNL) – Maui (OGG)
Snagging the saver award with Hawaiian Airlines is difficult, but it’s possible. I had to get help using the ExpertFlyer tool to alert me when Hawaiian Airlines’ first class saver award became available for 2 seats. I detailed the process in the following post, including how I earned HawaiianMiles:
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Hawaiian Airlines LAX Terminal Departure
Hawaiian Airlines depart from Tom Bradley International Terminal (TBIT) at LAX airport. You can check in for your flight there. After clearing TSA security, you still need to walk to Gate 200+, which takes about 15-20 minutes, depending on how fast you walk.
If you want to avoid walking, there’s also a complimentary electric mover that takes you. There will be airport staff to help you once you are in the area going towards Gate 200+ at the TBIT terminal.
Check-In
Because we did not have bags to check in, I did an online check-in through the Hawaiian Airlines app. The Hawaiian Airlines app cannot add the boarding pass to iPhone’s wallet, so every time we had to show our boarding passes, we had to launch the Hawaiian Airlines app and show the boarding passes from there. It was easy, just inconvenient.
We quickly cleared TSA security with TSA PreCheck and went to the lounge and the boarding gate.
Lounge Access
First, it is important to know that, unfortunately, Hawaiian Airlines does not have airport club lounges for First Class passengers at Los Angeles International Airport (LAX).
Provided that Hawaiian Airlines’ terminal departure at LAX is Tom Bradley International Terminal (TBIT), you can access the American Express Centurion Lounge LAX instead if you have an eligible Amex card, such as American Express Platinum Card or American Express Business Platinum Card.
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| Buffet Station Inside American Express Centurion Lounge LAX |
Boarding
The boarding process for First Class passengers was quick after pre-boarding. The new building in the TBIT terminal now includes automatic boarding pass scanning to speed up the process allowing passengers to scan their own boarding pass to get on the plane. If you travel to Europe often, it’s the similar boarding machine they use there.
After seated and departure, a video shows you how the First Class seats work on Hawaiian Airlines A330 aircraft. I would pay attention to that so you can see how everything works in your seats, including the iPad stand, etc. It was my first time experiencing Hawaiian Airlines First Class from the mainland United States to Hawaii. So I was excited to get on the flight and appreciated the seat’s demo video.
Entertainment Monitor
Because of how the back of the Hawaiian Airlines First Class seats is designed, there’s no monitor screen in each seat. However, you get an iPad that you can pair to any Bluetooth headphones or get one from the crew if you don’t have any. The crew will go around and hand out the iPads after departure.
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| The Back Seat Design Without Entertainment Monitors |
The iPad only has an entertainment app full of movies, TV shows, music, and games to entertain you.
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| Entertainment iPad Instead of Monitor |
Seats and Cabin
Hawaiian Airlines First Class seats show their age. The seats need repainting but are comfortable, and they can turn into a recliner or lie-flat position via the side controller.
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| Hawaiian Airlines First Class Seats |
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| Hawaiian Airlines First Class Seats |
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| Hawaiian Airlines First Seats Show Their Age |
The cabin in First Class is arranged in 2-2-2 configurations. There are a total of 18 First Class seats on this Airbus aircraft. If you are traveling alone, the ideal seats may be in the middle of the cabin with direct aisle access on both sides, so you don’t have to climb on your seatmate to go to the bathroom.
There’s also a divider between seats that you can put up for little privacy while sitting with a stranger. See the picture below:
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| Privacy Divider Between Seats |
The overhead bins are small, except for the ones in the middle.
I like the back design of the seats, and that’s the most photogenic for Hawaiian Airlines First Class seats.
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| Beautiful Back Design |
Check out a mini video I made during the flight on Hawaiian Airlines A330 that I posted to Instagram below:
Drinks and Food
Alcoholic drinks and non-alcoholic drinks are available complimentary. During the pre-departure service, they also had signature Mai Tai, which tasted good.
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| Mai Tai Pre-Departure Drink |
There’s only one meal service, and a menu is handed out after you are seated. Our flight departed at 10 AM, so they served lunch, which included the option of either Garlic Roast Pork or Vegetarian Roasted Shiitake Mushroom Fried Rice for the entrees, followed by a Coffee Crunch Cake dessert.
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| Pre-Meal Service: Macadamia Nuts & Drink |
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| Garlic Roasted Pork |
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| Roasted Shiitake Mushroom Fried Rice |
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| Coffee Crunch Cake |
Here’s the full menu for Hawaiian Airlines HA3 First Class Airbus 330-200 Los Angeles to Honolulu:
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| Hawaiian Airlines First Class Menu |
Lie-Flat Bed
First Class seats on Hawaiian Airlines can be turned into a lie-flat position to sleep or recline.
I personally found the seat a bit narrow and not as comfortable as I had hoped for. Regardless, it was nice to fully stretch my feet and lie down during the journey to Hawaii for more than 5 hours.
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| Hawaiian Airlines Lie-Flat Seat |
Crew Service
The crew in the First Class cabin is nice, friendly, and gentle. I really appreciate their service during the flight, so kudos to Hawaiian Airlines!
Amenity Kit
Hawaiian Airlines First Class between the mainland United States and Hawaii offers no amenity kit, socks, slippers, etc. They only offer blankets and pillows.
