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Hawaiian’s classy new lie-flat seats now on sale

Lie-flat seats in Hawaiian's new A330 Premium Cabins are now on sale. (Image: Hawaiian Airlines)

Lie-flat seats in Hawaiian’s new A330 Premium Cabins are now on sale. (Image: Hawaiian Airlines)

That new Premium Cabin that Hawaiian Airlines has been promising has finally gone on sale, offering lie-flat seats and high-end amenities for travel starting in early December on the airline’s routes to Asia/Pacific destinations.

Called simply the Premium Cabin, the new service is being installed in Hawaiian’s Airbus A330s, and will initially be available on flights from Honolulu to Tokyo Narita, Brisbane and Auckland starting December 5, and to Sydney as of December 13. (See press release here)

Entertainment is delivered via 13-inch tablets on adjustable arms. (Image: Hawaiian Airlines)

Entertainment is delivered via 13-inch tablets on adjustable arms. (Image: Hawaiian Airlines)

The Premium Cabin has 18 lie-flat leather seats that are 20.5 inches wide and 76 inches long, in a 2-2-2 layout. Front-cabin travelers get new amenity kits, cotton quilts and lounging pillows, as well as two USB ports and one A/C outlet. The new in-flight entertainment system – with more than 100 hours of movie and TV programming – is available via 13-inch tablets that sit on a telescoping arm.  The Premium Cabin also offers new in-flight dining options with regional dishes from Hawaiian chefs.

Premium Cabin flyers will get bountiful amenity kits. (Image: Hawaiian Airlines)

Premium Cabin flyers will get bountiful amenity kits. (Image: Hawaiian Airlines)

The new service will become available on more routes as the airline continues to refit its fleet of 23 A330s, with the work continuing into next year. Besides the new Premium Cabin, the planes will also get 28 more Extra Comfort seats – the carrier’s premium economy option.  The refit will trim total capacity on the widebodies from 294 seats to 278, including 18 in Premium Cabin, 68 in Extra Comfort and 192 in the main cabin (which will still provide 31-inch pitch, the airline notes).

Seat recline is adjusted by turning a small wheel. (Image: Hawaiian Airlines)

Seat recline is adjusted by turning a small wheel. (Image: Hawaiian Airlines)

We found Premium Cabin roundtrip fares priced as low as $4,059 from HNL to Tokyo in February, and $3,749 to Sydney in March.

From SFO or LAX, you can fly Hawaiian business class via HNL to Tokyo in mid-December for about $4,700 round trip. Business class from SFO or LAX roundtrip to Sydney is in the $7,500 range.

Premium Cabin flyers will be served Hawaiian-inspired cuisine. (Image: Hawaiian Airlines)

Premium Cabin flyers will be served Hawaiian-inspired cuisine. (Image: Hawaiian Airlines)

Hawaiian is not part of any of the big three global airline alliances, but it maintains partnership agreements with seven airlines (including JetBlue and Virgin America, but no longer with American), which allow members of frequent flyer programs to earn and burn miles on Hawaiian flights.

Related: Trip Report: Hawaiian Airlines A330 SFO-HNL

It’s increasingly unlikely that we’ll see Hawaiian’s lie-flat seats on the West Coast over the long term because the carrier will soon begin to deploy its newest 190-seat Airbus A321 on these shorter routes where a lie-flat seat is likely superfluous.

Would you consider flying Hawaiian Airlines across the Pacific with a stopover in Honolulu? Why or why not? Please leave your comments below. 

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Delta Comfort+ expansion and confusion

Delta's Comfort+ seating offers extra legroom and other perks. (Image: Delta)

Delta’s Comfort+ seating offers extra legroom and other perks. (Image: Delta)

Earlier this week Delta ‘s sales of Comfort+ as a new and separate fare category took effect for travel within the U.S. and Canada – and now it is extending that change  to select international routes.

The airline said customers can now book and purchase these seats for travel starting September 19 or later on flights to and from destinations in the Asia/Pacific region (except China, Hong Kong and Taiwan) and Latin America/Caribbean (except Brazil, Argentina, Peru and Chile).

Comfort+ is the extra-legroom seating area in Delta’s main cabins; besides the extra seat pitch, benefits also include free beer, wine and alcoholic drinks; free snacks; priority boarding; dedicated overhead bin space; and free premium entertainment.

When Delta introduced Comfort+ more than a year ago, it used the extra-legroom seating primarily as a new perk for SkyMiles Medallions, who could get automatic free access to the preferred seats when they booked. Any unclaimed Comfort+ seats could be occupied by non-Medallions for an extra seat booking fee – an add-on option that will still apply on international routes not included in this latest expansion.

Related: International premium economy coming to Delta 

Comfort+

Comfort Plus now displays as separate fare category. (Image: Delta)

Medallions can still request Comfort+ seating when they book, but the number of seats available for them to occupy at no extra cost will likely be reduced as paying passengers can now book and buy them in advance.

We’ve heard from several readers confused or surprised by these changes, so if you still don’t get it, Delta’s website has a page of FAQs about the new policies and procedures that apply to Comfort+, including the rules for Medallions to gain free access to the seats.

Delta said that Comfort+ “is most easily purchased” through the airline’s direct sales channels (website, app, reservations agents); it noted that it “remains engaged with distribution partners to allow Delta Comfort+ to be displayed and purchased through travel agents and in consumer direct shopping displays.”

The expansion of Comfort+ fares comes just a few weeks after Delta implemented a new set of rules  for the priorities it assigns in clearing requests for complementary upgrades.

So, Delta flyers, what do you think of these changes? Please sound off in the comments below. 

NOTE: Be sure to click here to see all recent TravelSkills posts about: United’s newest, longest flight + Tipping Uber drivers + Qantas 747 Trip Report + Confusion over PreCheck policies + No-fee earlier flights

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