Hawaiian Airlines 452

Good day and welcome to Sydney Kingsford Smith Airport in Sydney Australia.

Prior to boarding, I opened LoungeBuddy to see what kind of lounge offerings I had access to. The plaza premium lounge had a long wait list to enter, so I tried the House by Aspire Airport Lounges. Pleasantly surprised with the immediate entrance, I proceeded forward and left down the stairwell. As you can see, it was quite busy and seating was limited. As you follow the white-tiled floor through the lounge, you will find a variety of seating options, a bar serving wines and spirits, and a buffet-style meal station. In hind site, a salad would have been a better choice.

After a few glasses of wine and some very tasty cookies, my boarding time was nearing so I decided to grab my bag and head to the gate. The aircraft had just arrived from Honolulu and was slightly delayed, so I could have had a few more cookies in the lounge. Either way, I did a little background check on tonight’s aircraft. N386HA is an A330-200 delivered to Hawaiian in April 2012. I won’t even try to pronounce the plane’s name, but Hawaiian Airlines does name all of their planes.

Tonight’s flight will take around nine and a half hours covering a total distance of 8,154 km. We will depart north prior to turning east en route to fly over Fiji. After passing over Fiji, a slight turn north will have us on a direct path for Honolulu.

The slight delay in departure allowed us the opportunity to watch this A380 be pushed back. One day I’ll get myself on that aircraft type.

Hawaiian Airlines A330-200s accommodate 253 passengers spread across three classes. Eighteen lie-flat seats make up the forward cabin in a 2-2-2 configuration. 68 extra comfort seats are spread throughout the cabin, most of which are in the forward part of the aircraft. These seats are 18” wide, offer 36” of pitch, and can recline 6”. The remaining 192 economy seats have 31” of pitch, recline 6”, and vary in width. I am seated in 18A for tonight’s flight, an extra comfort seat. If you’re a taller individual like myself (6’4’’), you’ll be happy with the extra room offered in this premium seat.

If you’ve ever studied a map with time zones overlaid, you’re probably aware that tonights flight crosses the international date line, which runs north-south between Australia and Hawaii. In doing so, even though the flight leaves at roughly 10PM, we will arrive in Honolulu on the same day, but at 11AM. 

The first meal service commenced and we were handed this nifty little bag. The meal consisted of a Roast Chicken with sun-dried tomato pesto wrap, an apple, and a Honolulu Cookie company cookie. The meal was acceptable, and honestly, not something I was expecting given it was after 11PM.

Speaking of the unexpected, FAs had passed through the aisles earlier in the flight handing out amenity kits. As this was not a business class flight, I was pleasantly surprised to be on the receiving end of these eco-friendly bags. Opening the bag up, you will find all of the typical items provided in in-flight amenity kits, including a dental kit, earplugs, tissues, comb, pen, earbuds, as well a cool eye mask.

Thanks to the provided blanket, I was able to get a couple hours of sleep as we chased the sunrise. In between the interrupted sleep cycles, I tried to check out the entertainment options. Introduced in 2010, Hawaiian’s fleet of A330s still carry the same high-resolution LCD touch screen monitors. These systems are certainly showing their age with the slow response time and reduced resolution compared with alternative carriers systems. Thankfully, I guess, the insomnia I was experiencing had reduced my concentration capacity preventing me from being able to focus on anything, so I decided to close my eyes and wait until dawn.

For the second meal service, we were offered a tray containing a small fruit cup with watermelon, cantelope, and honeydew, a warm plate containing baked beans, scrambled eggs, a chicken sausage, and hash brown. This meal is suspiciously similar to the one I received on an Alliance Airlines flight from Darwin to Brisbane. I preferred the breakfast meal over the late evening wrap, but who doesn’t enjoy breakfast?

Breakfast not only signaled dawn had arrived, but also indicated we were nearing Honolulu. As such, it is time to reflect on the flight and summarize my experience. The primary reason for purchasing extra comfort was because I prefer a little extra legroom. While I had not tested out the traditional economy seats, I can only imagine how squeezed I would feel with 5 less inches of pitch and a seat width potentially 1.5 inches less. Hawaiian airlines also highlights Extra Comfort guests receive individual power outlets, priority screening and boarding in some locations, as well as the amenity kit shown earlier. Having seen many reviews that describe other airline amenity kits, I was excited to see Hawaiian airlines provided unique contents. The sunnys eye mask and wooden comb exemplify the thoughtfulness and attention-to-detail of the crew. My expectations for the meals weren’t too high, and honestly they weren’t surpassed. That is OK though, because we did receive food and it wasn’t that bad. What was bad about this particular flight, and I assume all HA flights on A330s, is the in-flight entertainment. In a way, this isn’t entirely HAs fault. I get that the pandemic and regulatory issues with the FAA and Boeing haven’t been ideal, which has delayed delivery of several Dreamliners HA has on order. Once those Dreamliners arrive, I’m sure that travelers crossing the Pacific will have a more modern entertainment system, in addition to the other benefits associated with the Dreamliner. 

If I were to fly this route again, would I choose the same seat? At the moment, I have no comparator, but I’d certainly like to try some of the competitors products. The price was right for this flight, and honestly it wasn’t bad at all. Sure, the entertainment was a little dated, but many people carry their own entertainment with them in their pocket.