HNL to LAX in Hawaiian Airlines 787-9 Extra Comfort

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Considering that Hawaiian Airlines will be using the 787-9 primarily on long-haul international routes, I'll never understand why they didn't include a true premium economy product.

"Extra Comfort" is as close as it gets. It's a standard economy class seat with a few extra inches of legroom. That's it. Food and drinks are exactly the same as what you'll get in economy class. There's no difference with the in-flight entertainment either.

This is a full review of flight number 2 from Honolulu (HNL) to Los Angeles (LAX). Total flying time was 4 hours and 47 minutes, my seat number was 18G, and the aircraft registration was N780HA.

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[SamDueled]

He literally never misses, another great review!

[harveyh]

Just started flying Hawaiian to the mainland this year. The last Hawaiian A-330 I flew on to and from Vegas had free wi-fi for all classes! Star-Link; amazing! My past two trips also offered a free complementary Ko Hana Rum brand cocktail to all passengers over the age of 21 with the meal service. Can't remember if it was offered on the first flight I had with them and I don't know if this is offered on other routes.

On my last to trips to the Mainland, the attendants came down the cabin with applications for the Hawaiian Air charge card that had a 70, 000 mile sign-up bonus that you would qualify for with a MINIMAL purchase. Buy a stick of gum and you get 70, 000 miles. Sounds amazing! I have a personal account Hawaiian Air card now so I can't cancel and reapply for a new personal account to take advantage of this offer. $99 annual fee for the card. Might be worth it for a tourist to sign up for this deal as Hawaiian Air miles do not expire and they can cancel their card after they bank their miles to use for travel.

[thetwopointslow]

The first time I went to HNL I totally wasn’t expecting the open air portion of the terminal. I was totally blown away (figuratively)!

[bobgraham]

On the longer flights HNL to Sydney the extra leg room is really worth it, and even on the west coast flights, I'm 6`2 so I would always go for extra comfort. Too bad about the food, but they do have that fabulous in flight magazine, Hana Hou.

[rolo]

Next time get POG juice (passion fruit, orange, guava). You’ll love it!

[ryanfrisby]

Excellent review Scott!! I’m only 5’8 so I’d never pay extra for extended legroom, but I’d see the appeal for super tall people!

[TerryDomingo]

Aloha! You should do a travel blog for your stay in Honolulu too! I miss it so much - hope you had a wonderful time. Yes HA extra comfort are pretty darn good seats!

[linhofmann]

Thanks for doing this video. I'm currently looking at West Coast Australia to West Coast US, it is a LONG way and the whole International Date line, messes with you more than the usual jetlag. So I have been tossing up doing West Coast Aus to Sydney Aus ( 5hrs) and then onto Hawaii and finally onto LAX. Vs smashing it out and doing direct Sydney to LAX . This really helps :)

[lrg]

Boy, Hawaii economy meal service is a far cry from what it used to be back in 1977.

I flew Pan Am from HNL to SEA, on a 747-121, on US Thanksgiving Day, and got a full––and I do mean FULL––Thanksgiving style meal, complete with turkey, sweet potatoes, vegetables, salad, cranberry sauce, desert, beverage and other snacks. There was even a Pan Am 50 year anniversary booklet in the front seat pocket! I was 14 at the time.

Modern in-flight entertainment systems are great, but meal service leaves a lot to be desired, unless you travel on pricy premium class service.

[teamalohadesignco.]

Thanks for the video review- question : could you feel any differences from the Low cabin pressure that the 787 offers over for example Hawaiians a-350? Did you get less fatigue from flying on the 787? Mahalo

[anthonyc]

Any plans to do a review of PD's service from SFO, LAX, or SAN?

[keithfreitas]

Why is AG inspection just before boarding? Usually I get inspected at the entrance of the Terminal and this was in March. Yea the food used to be on a tray some years ago along with carrot cake. Now I bring my own bento both ways from LAX.

[kevinkong]

Thanks for the update and I knew the airline will merge with Alaska Airlines soon

[itsnotme]

These YouTube things....seems they did NOT put your new videos in my feed...even though I'm subscribed....and no, I don't have the bell on because I don't want 200 emails from YouTube telling me new videos are up...but the feed part they should be doing. Not making me check...hey, is Scott still around? LOL And I'm a Premium member too....gotta be someone to blame for that. Ok to the video. Why would anyone design an inside terminal in Honolulu? I've never been...it's on my list to do and maybe when I fire my boss (sometime in the next 10 years), I'll celebrate by flying first class to Hawaii! Maybe... Ok, back to the review. You didn't mention the cost difference, but a quick check on their website. Looks like about a $100 difference roundtrip. As a big guy...the extra legroom and first on the plane make that worth it. Not sure what that was in that pocket...pepperoni mash? LOL
Great job as usual Scott!! Ok, on to the other videos I missed....

[lotusupra]

You do get free alcohol in economy... they have free rum drink (koloa) for all passengers

[lvthud]

Scott, you almost got it right, the least favorite place on earth IS T1, but at JFK, waiting to clear immigration to be exact. 5 wide bodies pull up, immigration goes from 10 open desks to 3, and of course Global Entry goes down, 2 hours to clear what should be a 5 minute job just kills me, I really wish ITA would move to a different terminal.

[dianeleazenby]

I could definitely see wanting to spend more time walking through the outside gardens. Guess you have to go home sometime…

[LK_EBM]

What do you use for your filming? All done on your iPhone?

[foxpresso]

So do you think Alaska will eventually do to this product?

[JohnNorris-qx]

Just goes to show that a couple of extra inches doesn't make that much