Hawaiian Island Hopping: My Hawaiian Airlines Review

If you’re planning a trip to Hawaii, you’re probably going to be doing at least two islands while you’re there. If that’s the case you’re 90% likely going to be getting an inter-island flight with Hawaiian Airlines. The flights themselves are priced quite reasonably to be honest. Our flights to Maui were $150 return - so $75 each way, not overly expensive and would get us there in about 30 min. The booking experience online was quite simple, just needed to pick the dates and times as there were flights to Maui almost every hour. Then fill out all the passenger details and pay by credit card - easy as pie! I didn't have to deal with plenty of upsell attempts as I did when I booked my flight from Australia.

I’ll always remember thinking - ok just an inter-island flight so just show up with a minimum amount of time to check in and clear security. Thankfully one day at the hotel in Waikiki I was reading an article in Honolulu’s Star Advertiser about the struggles travellers have been facing with inter-island flights and the crazy lineups. The article suggested getting there with at least 3 hours handy to check in and clear security. I'm so glad that I followed the article’s advice as when I go there... DAMN! In Honolulu there were 2 massive lineups - both that went out the door. It really did take 90-120 min. to check in and clear security. In Maui it was the same thing, one massive line that goes halfway through the airport. Once you get through the massive line you’re in. All that’s left is to get to your gate and board your flight. There isn’t really all that much to see or do at the airport, just the odd food stand and maybe a burger king.

As for the flight itself - everything was as smooth as could be for a 30 some minute flight. There’s no need for any meals as the flights are so short, but the flight attendants still come around offering every passenger a complimentary juice - which is way more than what I got on my no-frills flight from Australia.  I do recommend a window seat as there’s no entertainment system once again due to the flight being so short. Looking through the window you can see some of the other islands which is pretty cool.

All in all the inter-island flying experience was pretty smooth. From the hassle-free booking to touching down on a new island. Just be sure to allow yourself plenty of time at the airport to clear security as even though it’s a very short flight, with one leaving every hour there’s hundreds of people showing up at once. Apart from that have fun exploring Hawaii!