Hawaiian Airlines Boeing 787 Starts Flying: What To Expect

This is a massive opportunity for Alaska to become a true player in the transcon market.

Massive is a strong word, and AS has been picking their transcon markets carefully the past few years. No need to launch an assault on UA, DL and good buddy AA for a weenie-waving contest.

Still don’t like how close one’s head is to the person your seated next to on those centre seats.

I was thinking if the-10 would've been better suited over the -9 since their route profile is pretty much within limits of the -10, unless they plan on flying further or it might be a tad big for them?

The Air Tahiti Nui 787’s have a much better seat layout (2x2x2 business class and premium economy). I prefer to sit by a window, with my wife next to me, and no stranger sitting next to her. No can do on Hawaiians layout. Big mistake.

i dont think they need that much capacity for more seats, hawaiian already flies the a330-200 which is compared to the 787-8, now they have a 787-9 which matches the -300

Maybe let your wife sit by the window sometimes?

I do, about 50% of the time actually. Nice try tho.

As someone based in Hawaii, this is good news. Wonder why they’re focusing on the West Coast rather than their popular HNL to JFK route?

I’m guessing Delta is already eyeing those 717s.

My guess is for crew familiarization as it's a new type for them. The west coast is much closer to Hawaii. Plenty of airlines do this where they put their new toys initially on shorter routes to get their crew familiar with the type before they stretch their legs.

Btw, Aloha.

Center seats are a head scratcher for such a leisure destination. Should be more together.

The business class layout is reverse herringbone along the windows and herringbone in the centre? Best of both worlds for both single and couple travellers!

due to the distance, they need to commit at least 2 frames to that route and that's the entire fleet right now, so if IRROPS occur, much harder to recover than the a330.

i am sure i can survive not seeing my wife for the 6-10+ hour flight, 1-2-1 is the wave of the future for business class now.

Hawaiian needs this aircraft to be competitive especially in the Asia/ Pacific market where the other carriers are known for both solid hard and soft product.Also finally they come into the 21st century with wi-fi. Looking forward to a June booking out of LA with this new product.

Still wondering why HA went for a new type vs ordering A330neo... seems like an expensive training ahead for crews. A338 has the range for TYO/SYD from HNL. Unsure about NYC.

Unless Boeing basically gave away these ScreamLiners...

Doubtful, if for anything other than spare parts. The amount of cycles on those Hawaiian 717s would be atrocious.

Looking forward to trying this product Memorial Day weekend. The new business class layout works out a little better for a family of 3, odd one out won't have a random seat mate.

I agree with you…I was joking. With long term exposure to moist salt air I doubt anyone would even want them for spare parts.

Are Hawaiian lie flat seats usually something that miles can be redeemed for, or is there never availability? Are there lie flat seats on other carriers to Hawaii that one can "easily" come by with miles?

I can't help but feel like a better use of these would be to link their East Coast destinations with HNL.

(Also wouldn't personally mind an IAD > HNL route to compete with United being the only option)

Money and schedule. HA has also expressed frustration with AirBus.

Instead of taking over Hawaiian's 787s, could we maybe see Alaska order more 787s (or technically, would see see Hawaiian excersize their options and transfer those planes to Alaska, if that is the better deal)?

Also, why don't Alaska, Hawaiian, and JetBlue all merge? They are all strong in different markets, and they have mostly complimentary route networks. JetBlue is also looking to expand, which is why they wanted to aquire Spirit. Instead, why not merge with Alaska (who is strong on the West Coast - complementing JetBlue who is strong on the east coast). Such a merger would create a new competitor to the big 3 US Airlines (and Southwest). But, they could also each maintain their own brand.

I think that could work, and it would allow Hawaiian more connectivity to the mainland, and HNL could be used as a one-stop for many itineraries from secondary US west coast cities to Asia, as well as from the US to South East Asian cities that aren't well served nonstop from the US, such as Singapore, Bangkok, Jakarta, Kuala Lumpur, etc..

Alaska and Jetblue would both be able to compete better with the big US carriers, and they would get more connectivity and scale to be able to launch long haul operations. Alaska from SEA, LAX, and SFO, and JetBlue could also get some 787s and launch long-haul flights from JFK, BOS, FLL, and maybe some leisure routes from MCO. All three airlines have a focus on providing a customer experience. Why don't we see this happen?

23 April, Tuesday, the 787 and crew provided a very nice experience for my super cheap seat, and a few hours before departure i was able to get an infinite legroom window seat, A34, instead of further back aisle seat.

Those paying premium prices get an added plus of taking a left to the 1-2-1 seats, while we hoi polloi go to the right, thus first classers that board early are spared having 266 of us scooch by them. I can't recall if it's the same on flight 26 and all the other A330s?

It seemed we were well over 90% full, but i didn't think to ask how many souls were recorded aboard. Nobody bought the +$19 extra comfort seats ahead of me in exit row 33, unless the young woman later seated there paid in-flight.

There really nothing to say about the in flight experience to distinguish coach dreamliner from coach airbus. Same as on the 330 they announced that those of us happy to eat airline hot pockets could come to the galley and see if any remained while asking for a drink 🙂

I'm not sure that HA12 will always go to the same gates at SFO, it was interesting but crowded to arrive at T1's gate 11 among Quantas and EVA in that weirdly tiered corner of the terminal.

As others have mentioned, the 787s seem great for longer routes than HA12 and maybe the 2 current airframes will be put on a new route when the next 787s arrive and may be put on this rout as a break-in/training tradition?

As to Hawaiian's situation in general, with or without Alaska, it was interesting to see that Southwest also reported a quarterly loss recently, as did American, although HA's -$138 million is disproportionately large 🙁

I can't believe they are starting the 787-9 for west coast flights first. When the east coast nonstop routes such as Boston and NY to Honolulu should come first in my opinion. I have a trip planned from Boston to Honolulu in business class end of October. And i was REALLY looking forward to hopefully flying on the new 787-9 for 11hrs in my own private seat. Now i'll be on the A330-200 sharing a seat with a small partition that barely makes things "private" thank god i chose a window seat. Especially, for the amount of money i'm paying for my ticket. Hopefully, the service and other amenities will make up for having to share a seat with someone. They should state when the 787-9 will be offered for nonstop service for the east coast flights.

when will Hawaiian Airlines fly the new Boeing 787-9 from JFK non stop to Hallou

when will hawaiian airlines fly the new Boing 787-9 from JFK non stop to Honolulu wood like to book this ( ROUND TRIP ) buy SEPT ??????