Here’s another unpublished trip report from the scrap heap. On our Christmas 2019 trip to Hawai’i, we island hopped from Oahu to the Big Island halfway through. For our flight from Honolulu to Hilo, Hawaiian Airlines offered the only option. But, we decided to spring for First Class for our party of 7. Why First Class? When I purchased our tickets in advance, First Class was a $50 premium over coach. To put it mildly, my family doesn’t know how to pack light. And with my then 3-year old son in tow, that made it difficult for me and my wife, too. With the likelihood of needing 2 checked bags per person, the $50 for First actually came out cheaper than the $60 in bag fees. Each ticket in Hawaiian Airlines B717 Interisland First Class set us back $179 cash.
Hawaiian Airlines (HA) Flight 362
- Saturday, December 28, 2019
- Depart: Honolulu – Daniel K. Inouye International Airport (HNL), Terminal 1, Gate A19, 15:54, 21m late
- Arrive: Hilo International Airport (ITO), Gate 6, 16:48, 19m late
- Duration: 54 minutes
- Seats: 2A, 2B, 2E
- Equipment: Boeing 717-200
Check-In and Boarding
The Saturday after Christmas, Honolulu Airport was bursting at the seams. That actually made the priority check-in come in handy. Regular security looked pretty nasty, too. The three of us had Pre-Check, so we got through in about 10 minutes. My mother had to go through the regular line, though, and it took her a good 15 additional minutes. Interisland First Class passengers can visit the Premier Club, but we decided not to go given our relatively limited time. Our inbound plane arrived nearly half an hour late, though they made up a little time cleaning up. We headed on board our 717 about 20 minutes behind schedule. It’s a plane I remain irrationally obsessed with, so I was quite excited to be flying this bird.
Stepping onboard, I saw a Hawaiian Airlines 90th anniversary badge painted by the door.
Hawaiian Airlines B717 Interisland First Class – Seating and Interior
As I took my seat, the First Class FA welcomed us on board. I mentioned my family decided to take over the entire cabin (since we booked 7 out of 8 seats). That gave the FA a good laugh.
Hawaiian Airlines B717 Interisland First Class consists of 8 seats in a 2×2 configuration. The seats are 18.5″ wide and feature 37″ of pitch, a gain of 7″ compared to Economy Class. These planes aren’t exactly spring chickens; our aircraft entered service on October 25, 1998. Perhaps surprisingly, the brown leather seats were still in pretty decent shape.
Legroom was certainly generous in these seats, with room to fully stretch out my legs.
For comparison, below is legroom in the coach cabin, which we flew back from Hilo to Honolulu. These seats felt really tight, even for the advertised 30″ of pitch.
My son certainly enjoyed the extra room to eat his Ruffles (the “orange cheese chips” as he calls them).
No in-flight entertainment is offered on board interisland flights. However, given that Honolulu – Hilo is probably the longest flight in the system, it’s not like you have time to miss the IFE. Of course, the greatest part of being up front in a 717 is how quiet it is up there. With the engines far behind you, it’s serenely quiet at cruising speed.
Hawaiian Airlines B717 Interisland First Class – Food, Beverage, and Service
The FA sprang into action a mere 8 minutes after take-off with a beverage service. Since I was flying First, I indulged in the obligatory mai tai. Including a mai tai selfie, of course.
There’s no food service, but passengers do receive a packet of “Pau Hana Cafe” snack mix. Although it’s packaged as “made exclusively for Hawaiian Airlines”, it’s not much different from what you find at other airlines and lounges.
My son, however, took a liking to it, helping himself when I got up to go to the bathroom.
Despite the short duration, I found service quite good on this flight. The FA warmly welcomed us on board, and hustled to provide efficient service. He even managed to offer drink refills despite just 34 minutes of flight time. That’s pretty impressive, even for an 8-passenger cabin.
Flightseeing
A mostly clear afternoon meant some really nice flightseeing on the way to Hilo, despite a filthy window. Before we even left the airport, we saw Alaska’s beautiful “Spirit of the Islands” livery on the taxiway.
Much like our flight back to the mainland a few days later, our route gave us outstanding views of Honolulu. Again, you could see the entire city stretching out past Diamond Head, and up into the mountains.
This flight heading southeast took us a little farther away from Diamond Head. You could still see straight down into the crater, though. And this time, a cloud deck created a pretty scene with the mountains disappearing into a sea of white.
Later, we passed over the island of Moloka’i, first over the dry leeward side, then the wet windward side.
As we began our approach to Hilo, we flew over the windward slope of Haleakalā on the island of Maui. I really hoped to see the summit of Haleakalā itself, but I picked the wrong side of the plane. Doh!
Final Thoughts
Do you really need the extra legroom and free mai tai on a short interisland flight? No, and so ordinarily, I wouldn’t pay for First Class on these flights. I’d rather save the money and settle for some free POG juice instead in coach. But if you anticipate checking a lot of bags, it might actually make sense. Occasionally, the buy-up to First runs less than or equal to the cost of two checked bags. If that’s the case, might as well spring for it.
