Is It Worth Upgrading Hawaiian Airlines Inter-Island Flights?

I had a Delta agent explain to me once that priority tagged bags are the last to be loaded onto the aircraft so that they can be the first to come off. So if some bags have to come off due to weight issues, the priority bags are the first to come off...

"Hate money but think setting it on fire is too messy"

Exactly. Wayyyyy too short of a flight to upgrade.

I don't fly enough to "upgrade" so I end up buying premium tickets outright.
For short flights, I don't get the premium tickets for the flight, I get them for the expedited services on the ground; priority check in, bag handling, fast lanes. When travelling a series of short connecting flights; those perks made the difference of catching a connecting flight with just under an hour layover versus missing it. Getting on the plane first is okay, but getting off the plane first is priceless, to me.
The only airline I have status with is Emirates, which isn't a part of any of the big three alliances, therefore it carries over in a manner that is of little good for me.

To clarify when you said the lounge was "a bust," Hawaiian has the worst lounges in the world. They shouldn't even be called lounges - they're just holding pens with POG juice. Most folks don't pay for first interisland - it's either a continuation of a first/business ticket a Hawaiian elite upgrade or staff travel. Once in a blue moon you'll have a high roller who thinks he's special and will upgrade for the sake of doing so (as I did once for a friend so we could sit together = lose money). I'm surprised you only got one drink though. Did you ask for a refill? Every time I flew first I was offered a refill up until the gear came down - I always felt FAs think it's the only benefit to sitting up front so they try to make it worth your while.

Welcome to Hawaii!

Interisland flights are considered to be no different that a bus ride over water. Your experience in F is what most travelers experience, despite what the $50 upgrade fee suggests.

I generally travel with luggage, so I pay the extra $50.

While the intra-island flights don't provide much miles in terms of credit to a FF program, they do provide however substantial Status Credits for Velocity Frequent Flyer (Australia) considering the cheap cost of the economy ticket, along with the $50 upgrade - it's a no-brainer for me.

Kaoru: Although I am sure that is true for Delta and probably several other carriers, it seems inconceivable that even on the hottest, most humid Hawaiian day - with a cabin full of heavyweight wrestlers and a hold stuffed to the load line with bags - that a 717 would be weight restricted for a 25-minute, 101-nm flight. It seems far more likely that there were simply more bags than could fit than the aircraft would be overweight.

Typo: I meant 45-minute, not 25-minute flight.

No, you meant 25 minutes (actually a little less). HNL-OGG is a VERY short flight.

Typo rescinded 😛

If you are arriving in Honolulu on another airline and changing to Hawaiian, do you have to go through the security line again?

They have real JETs and Good pilots so their the ones to fly in Gale Force winds like I DID !!! Only 30K points left .

CHEERs

HNL was such a zoo for you because your Maui flight left near the time most of Hawaiian's long range flights leave for the west coast. If you want to avoid the crowds leave mid morning or after 5 pm. On a weekday you can take an early a.m. flight and it will be busy, but mostly with frequent flyers who are commuting between islands for work related reasons. Early a.m. flights on the weekend are amateur hour. Hope you enjoyed your stay in the aloha state!

Having lived in Hawaii for 25 years, yes, as others pointed out, it's our local bus system. Plus it moves a few million jet-lagged and disoriented unfrequent flyer visitors every year. Thus, the self-service check-in at HNL is an awful experience. And the machines force baggage fees if you're even a pound overweight.

When the other interisland carrier finally went bankrupt, it was a bit of a crisis. Hawaiian was flying 767s interisland for a while...

Lol no one's watching when you're weighing bags so I always lift the top handle up so it reads lighter but it looks to someone else like I'm just placing the bag on the scale. The HA customer service agents are so useless and rude anyway. HA is only good once you get onboard. On the ground, they're only nice to tourists. Locals can suck teeth.

Hawaiian is one of those airlines that you want to love, but in practice it's a mess. This experience was similar to the $1,000-plus "international business-class" (aka domestic first-class flight I had on Hawaiian about a year and a half ago between Honolulu and Pago Pago, American Samoa. My bags, which had the priority bag, were the absolute last bags to arrive on the baggage claim belt in Pago Pago, nearly an hour after landing. Because there is only twice-a-week commercial service to American Samoa, the flights are very full. Samoans bring back lots of bags. It was a complete mess. As for the service, sure it was OK and more extensive than the service on your short flight, but I honestly don't think Hawaiian lives up to the romanticism of its name and brand.

Not really sure why there's a beverage service on a 25 minute flight. I realize it's expected and would seem odd without but, after climb and descent, there's so little time. What's the point or am I a stick-in-the-mud?

"Not really sure why there’s a beverage service on a 25 minute flight. I realize it’s expected and would seem odd without but, after climb and descent, there’s so little time. What’s the point or am I a stick-in-the-mud?"

It isn't a full one in Y - just Pog, water and maybe coffee. In F, it is part of the service. Remember the environment HA operates in - it is warm and can be muggy. The airplane boarding process is quite similar. As such, a refreshment makes sense.