Over the weekend, I had the chance to check out the new Hawaiian Airlines 787-9 Dreamliner. It’s a beautiful aircraft…let’s take a look onboard.
Hawaiian Airlines 787-9 – A First Look
Hawaiian Airlines recently took delivery of its first Boeing 787-9 aircraft and brought it to Los Angeles International Airport (LAX) to show employees and members of the media. On Saturday morning, I drove down to LAX to check it out. In short: what a beautiful aircraft and meaningful premium cabin upgrade for Hawaiian Airlines.
Hawaiian Airlines 787-9 Cabin Finishes
If you enter the aircraft from door 2, you will immediately be struck by the thoughtful cabin finishes like the wood paneling (meant to resemble an outrigger canoe) and the floral inlay on the ceiling.
These details make this aircraft unique and offer a touch of quality that I greatly appreciate.
Even the fasten seatbelt lights are Hawaiian-themed!
Hawaiian Airlines 787-9 Business Class
The “Leihoku” business class cabin features 34 seats in a 1-2-1 configuration. Each seat has a closing door. Seats are 77 inches long in lie-flat mode and 21 inches wide. The turquoise and brown color scheme is evocative of the volcanic soil and blue waters of Hawaii.
Hawaiian chose the Adient Aerospace Ascent for business class, the same seat Qatar Airways uses on its 787-9 aircraft (American Airlines eventually will use this seat too).
In the middle section, privacy dividers may be raised or lowered, which helpfully addresses that many couples travel to Hawaii together and like to speak to each other during the flight.
Screens are 18 inches wide and each suite has a USB-A port (not USB-C surprisingly) and a universal power outlet. Each seat also has a side compartment with a mirror and enough space to store personal valuables.
Next to the cabinet is a pocket for storing a mobile phone with a wireless charging surface.
The tray table slides out from underneath the screen and then can be pivoted out to provide more table space.
Although still somewhat constraining, I found there was plenty of room for my feet in the footwell.
Mood lighting includes a starry host, reminiscent of the unpolluted night sky visible in many parts of Hawaii.
One big downside is that there are no personal air vents in the overhead passenger service unit or in the suite itself. I will never understand why a carrier would skip this…
IFE includes movies, TV shows, music, and games, plus a moving flight map.
Chief Marketing Officer Avi Mannis explained that every detail was carefully planned, including lighting, seat cushions, and IFE screens. The seat is quite comfortable in all positions and marks a big upgrade over the current A330 business class seats (arranged in a 2-2-2 configuration).
Hawaiian Airlines 787-9 Economy Class + Extra Comfort
The economy class cabin contains 266 seats, divided into two cabins with extra legroom seats in the front of the forward economy class cabin. Hawaiian chose the Collins Aerospace Aspire seat for its 787-9.
While Hawaiian Airlines chose to forgo a premium economy cabin onboard, it does offer 66 extra legroom seats in economy class called Extra Comfort. Rather than all being in the front of the cabin, these seats are mostly along the side (Mannis told me that is because many people paying extra for these seats prefer window seats).
Extra Comfort has 35 inches of seat pitch while standard economy class has 31 inches. Both seats are 17.5 inches wide. All seats recline about three inches. Extra Comfort has power outlets (two for every three seats) while economy class does not have any. However, all seats have USB-A and USB-C plugs (unlike business class) under the IFE screen. Monitors are 12 inches wide. Large overhead bins will accommodate larger roll-a-board bags.
In the very rear of the economy class cabin (rows 46 and 47), the configuration is 2-3-2 instead of 3-3-3 due to the curvature of the aircraft.
Hawaiian Airlines 787-9 Lavatories
There are two lavatories in the business class cabin (one in the back, one in the front), five in the middle of the economy class cabin (between the two cabins), and one in the rear. One of the five lavatories in the middle is intended for handicapped access and has a sliding door and more space.
Fun fact: each lavatory has a different floral pattern on the wall.
Hawaiian Airlines 787-9 Livery
The first HA 787-9 is named Kapuahi, the Hawaiian word for Aldebaran, a giant star in the Taurus constellation. Subsequent aircraft will also be named after stars and constellations. The aircraft is patined white and has its distinctive tail, with Pualani framed by the rising sun.
When Will The Hawaiian Airlines 787-9 Fly? Which Routes?
The aircraft will debut in April, flying:
- Honolulu ⇄ San Francisco: April 15th – May 14th (daily)
- Honolulu ⇄ Los Angeles: Select flights starting May 15th
- Honolulu ⇄ Phoenix: Select flights starting May 15th
Mannis explained that there is a high premium demand from the West Coast, which is one reason why the new Dreamliner will debut on shorter routes than Boston/New York/Tokyo to Honolulu. However, with more aircraft deliveries planned, we could see all of these routes potentially operated by the 787-9.
I asked Mannis about whether Alaska Airlines already has its eye on this aircraft and he focused on Alaska’s commitment to keep Hawaiian Airlines a separate brand, calling it a “unique” and “exciting” merger opportunity.
What This Aircraft Is Missing
Finally, let me count up what this aircraft is missing:
- Power outlets in economy class (extra-legroom economy class seats feature outlets)
- Wi-Fi onboard (eventually, Hawaiian will use Starlink, but that may take a year to install)
- Bluetooth IFE connectivity
- Premium economy (Mannis told me Hawaiian does not see a market for it beyond a row or two, which is not economically feasible)
- Individual air vents
CONCLUSION
Hawaiian Airlines has taken delivery of its first 787-9 and will place into commercial service between San Francisco and Honolulu next month. This aircraft represents a big leap forward for Hawaiian in business class and both cabins appear quite comfortable.
The poor FA’s! That door 2 galley is so narrow. Always shrinking their office space.
Hot!
+1
No premium economy–big mistake. I like to sit by the window, sit next to my wife, have some decent legroom, and don’t want to sit next to a stranger. Going with the industry standard 3x3x3 in economy turns it into a torture chamber for the long flights planned for this aircraft. Air Tahiti Nui got it right for a primarily leisure destination–2x2x2 Business Class and a good Premium Economy section. I have flown both on ATN and either is very nice on the relatively short flights to Tahiti.
While I’m dumping on the horrible 3x3x3 economy seating in the 787, I also don’t understand why the airlines take a beautiful plane like the 787 and make the economy class experience identical to that offered on the crappy 737’s a A320’s. The A330 and 767 were light years ahead in this regard.
I do think a 2-4-2 makes more sense, but I guess we can all understand why that extra seat is too much to pass on…
I also thought not having WiFi installed on the 787 was an odd choice, but it appears that Hawaiian is handling FAA certification for all of its aircraft types. I suspect it’ll take longer than a year to get this process going due to the limited number of frames at the moment. The A330 fleet won’t have complete coverage until the end of this year, and is currently in certification.
You can’t say “every detail was carefully planned,” and install a USB-A outlet in J. USB-C is nearly decade old tech at this point and USB-A is obsolete. Aside from that, a very nice looking aircraft. I can’t wait for it to be commandeered by AS.
Seems like not having Premium Economy is a missed opportunity. Beautiful plane inside and out. Have to wonder though if the AS/HA merger goes through whether the 78s will become the mainstay of AS long haul across the Pacific and to London over US mainland to Hawaii (+ of course, key HNL-Asia and HNL-Australia/NZ routes).
3x3x3 on a 787. More headroom than you’ll ever need and absolutely none of the shoulder room. It’ll be quieter than the A321neo on that route, but otherwise “Dreamliner” is a bit of a joke.
These jets were configured way before the AS-HA merger.
Premium Economy will edge into the picture as time goes along.
Especially if the B787s were to make Euro trips or non-stop to the Pacific Rim via SEA, LAX, or SFO.
The competition from other airlines will force the issue.
Yes and if AS is reading these comments…. DONT EVEN THINK ABOUT TAKING OUT THE INDIVIDUAL SCREENS!! Thank you rant over.
That wood paneling is so incredibly stupid. Just more space for dust to collect and for the cleaners to do a more have a$$ed job of cleaning. I guess the geniuses who designed that feature think American airplanes aren’t filthy enough.
Great article but I do have a few issues with the aircraft.
1) not an issue but I can see those wood trim pieces at the entrance getting bumped a lot and quickly not looking good. Hopefully it’s actually a composite material that will stand up over time.
2) I hate that the layout of the middle seats in first puts the guests heads just inches apart even though a partition is available. Imagine it’s a stranger that close and they snore.
3) speaking of the partition, it’s looks translucent so even if it’s up and the person on the other side is watching a movie, you are still going to see light coming through. The window pods look great.
4) the seats in back should REALLY be 2-4-2. This way no matter where you are, the most you would have to climb over someone is 1 person and it’s works out better for people traveling together and somewhat less chance they would be split apart from each other.
5) there should be at least a few premium economy. Something like United’s purple seats.
Hopefully people at the airline read articles like these and the comments and take those into consideration. I mean they only have 1 of their order (although I think #2 is almost here) so they could change up the others. Hint hint.
Other than that it’s a beautiful aircraft.
Oops how did I forget to put this in:
6) not that hard to have dual USB A|C on every seat including up front and the should have 2 actual plugs on each row so people with laptops can charge.
7) YES, air vents for the front as well! More than once I have found myself on the verge of sweating up front and no vent to at least get a breeze going.
I see light coming from the back of the screen, why did they install lighting at the back of the screen?
I think it looks great. Not sure if the picture does it justice, but it is a very nice touch.
Agree with others, the 9 across in Economy put this plane on my never consider list for a flight that will be at least 5 hours.
This is standard on 787. You boycott all Dreamliners?
That would be a yes, at least in coach, Try not to fly coach on long flights but it’s tolerable on A330’s or 767’s when I’m flying with my SO in 2x window seating and 18″ seat width.
Going with the 3x3x3 is ridiculous ….No couple wants to sit with a stranger on those flights!
Even in a 2x4x2 configuration some couples will be seated with strangers. Also single people might want a window seat and there will be families traveling as well.
Not liking the 3-3-3 configuration…..too many middle seats! I’m 6ft 3 260 lbs. my wife and like sharing 2 seat area in the 2-4-2 configuration. We always pick our seats ahead of time so we won’t be sitting next to strangers. I’m a big guy and fly to Hawai’i once a year…just can’t afford the business class.