With our flight from Honolulu departing at 2PM, we got to the airport at around 12:40PM. That’s earlier than usual, but Honolulu Pride was going on the day we were there (unbeknownst to us), and the parade route blocked the way to the airport, so we were told to leave extra time.
We arrived at Hawaiian’s check-in area, which was a complete zoo, and isn’t at all logically laid out.
Hawaiian Airlines check-in Honolulu Airport
Hawaiian Airlines check-in Honolulu Airport
There were people in groups everywhere, and it wasn’t clear who was in a line and who wasn’t, etc. On top of that, the people working there were rude. We tried to stop an employee walking by to ask a quick question, and she responded with “I’m busy, I don’t have time to talk to you.” Nice.
Hawaiian Airlines check-in Honolulu Airport
The longest line in the check-in area was at the first class counter, which we wanted to use so we could get our Korean Air SkyPass numbers on our reservation. However, given how long the line was we figured we’d try to add the numbers at the gate instead.
Hawaiian Airlines first class check-in Honolulu Airport
We instead headed to a self-service kiosk, though half of them were out of service.
Hawaiian Airlines check-in kiosk Honolulu Airport
Then when I checked in, it claimed that more than one passenger on the flight had the same last name as me — I highly doubt that.
Hawaiian Airlines check-in kiosk Honolulu Airport
Hawaiian should be embarrassed of the check-in facility at their hub airport. The signage is terrible, the setup isn’t intuitive, and the employees are rude. Ultimately I blame management for not investing enough here, because it’s clear they’re way understaffed.
The TSA checkpoint was just near check-in, and much like in Maui, the Pre-Check lane was the longest one in the building. It was funny seeing so many people come up to the checkpoint and then say “wait, this is the Pre-Check lane?!”
Honolulu Airport TSA PreCheck lane
The line moved reasonably quickly, though it was about 20 minutes until we were through. Much like in Maui, I don’t really get the logic of how so many passengers are Pre-Check eligible, given that there’s typically a high correlation between business travelers and Pre-Check eligible passengers.
Honolulu Airport TSA PreCheck lane
We didn’t realize that past security we’d still need to take a shuttle to get to our flight. So we followed the signage towards “Wiki Wiki Shuttle to US Mainland” (that seems like a really long shuttle ride). 😉
Heading towards US mainland flights Honolulu Airport
The shuttle area was also a mess and didn’t make much sense, as there were different shuttles going to different places. You had to present the guy at the counter your boarding pass, and then when the bus was there, he’d call out the specific gate numbers for those who should get on. The only problem was that he wasn’t very good at it, and several people were left behind.
Shuttle to US mainland flights Honolulu Airport
Within about five minutes out shuttle showed up.
Shuttle to US mainland flights Honolulu Airport
The shuttle seems to basically drive on the roof of the terminal, which was a first for me. Fortunately the ride didn’t take too long. Once there, we found ourselves in the same part of the terminal that we had used when we transited on the outbound.
Honolulu Airport terminal
Honolulu Airport terminal
While the terminal is outdated, I love that it’s open air, which makes for some great views of planes.
Honolulu Airport ramp
Hawaiian Airlines A330 Honolulu Airport
There are two Priority Pass lounges at Honolulu Airport — the Plumeria Lounge and the IASS Hawaii Lounge. Stupidly I thought Andrew had reviewed the Plumeria Lounge back in June, but I realized he used Hawaiian’s other lounge, so I guess I should have gone there. Oops.
However, I did review the IASS Lounge (since Andrew reviewed the IASS Lounge at Tokyo Narita a while back as well). Most of the lounges at Honolulu Airport are located one level down from the main concourse, by the “Chinese Cultural Garden.”
Stairs to Honolulu Airport lounges
I don’t think I could describe the IASS Lounge more succinctly or accurately than the signage did…
Honolulu Airport lounge signage
Fortunately the garden on the ground floor was beautiful, and it was cool to walk around there.
Honolulu Airport garden
Honolulu Airport garden
Each lounge has a small sign overhead and a sign on the ground by the door, though other than that it can be tough to tell which lounge is which, as they all look the same outside.
IASS Lounge Honolulu Airport
IASS Lounge Honolulu Airport signage
The IASS Lounge has strange hours — it’s open from 7:30AM until 1:30PM, and from 2PM until 6PM. Does anyone know why they close for 30 minutes in the afternoon?! When I saw those hours on the Priority Pass website I figured it was a mistake, but nope.
IASS Lounge Honolulu Airport entrance
At the door there were three Japanese staff members sitting and standing by the reception desk (I’m not sure why they need three people when the lounge basically offers nothing). It was 1:20PM at this point, and they warned us that they’d be closing in 10 minutes. I said that was fine, and that we still wanted to use it.
10 minutes was more than enough to enjoy this lounge…
IASS Lounge Honolulu Airport
The lounge consisted of just one room with… tropical decor.
IASS Lounge Honolulu Airport
IASS Lounge Honolulu Airport
IASS Lounge Honolulu Airport
In terms of the extensive food & drink selection, the lounge had coffee (both hot and iced), Coke, Diet Coke, Sprite, pass-o-guava, and orange juice. That was it. There wasn’t a single thing to eat.
IASS Lounge Honolulu Airport coffee machine
IASS Lounge Honolulu Airport
IASS Lounge Honolulu Airport
IASS Lounge Honolulu Airport soft drinks & juice
Then there was a selection of mostly Japanese reading materials.
IASS Lounge Honolulu Airport newspapers & magazines
The lounge has Wi-Fi, which is the only useful feature, since the airport otherwise doesn’t offer Wi-Fi.
IASS Lounge Honolulu Airport Wi-Fi
The lounge doesn’t even have its own bathrooms. Instead you’re directed to go outside and to the left, where there are some public restrooms.
IASS Lounge Honolulu Airport bathrooms
We were evicted from the lounge at 1:30PM (not that we really wanted to stay longer anyway), and headed up to the food court, where we found a Pinkberry… go figure it was also closed until 2:00PM. Is there some airport wide thing I don’t know about, or…?
Honolulu Airport Pinkberry closed
We had a bit more time to kill, so we decided to stop by the nearby American Admirals Club, which we had access to thanks to my Admirals Club membership (though I’ve reviewed it before). What a great reminder why it’s important to hold a credit card with lounge access!
Boarding was scheduled for 2:05PM from gate 17, located at the far end of the concourse, so we headed in that direction at around 1:55PM.
Walking to departure gate Honolulu Airport
Once at the gate we stopped by the counter to have the agent add our Korean Air SkyPass numbers to the reservation, since we weren’t able to do so at check-in.
Honolulu Airport departure gate
The gate area was packed, and at 2:10PM they started pre-boarding (for those who need extra time, including families, which was about half the plane), and at 2:15PM started general boarding.
Honolulu Airport departure gate
IASS Lounge Honolulu Airport bottom line
This wasn’t the most impressive showing for Honolulu Airport. While I like how the airport is open air, everything else about our experience was bad, from Hawaiian’s awful check-in setup, to the long TSA PreCheck lines, to the IASS Lounge.
Having seen Andrew’s review of the IASS Lounge at Tokyo Narita, I can’t help but admire their brilliant business model. Invite Priority Pass members to sit in a dark and outdated room while offering them almost nothing and collecting a fee for each entry. It seems like a good business model to me.
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