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Home » United Airlines » Cool New Prize On United’s Halfway To Hawaii Game
HawaiiUnited Airlines

Cool New Prize On United’s Halfway To Hawaii Game

Matthew Klint Posted onFebruary 25, 2021November 14, 2023 22 Comments

United Saks Fifth Avenue Bedding

Starting on March 3, 2021 United Airlines will introduce a new prize on its Halfway to Hawaii game: a Polaris cooling gel pillow. Not a bad prize for one of my favorite parts of flying to Hawaii on United Airlines.

United Airlines Halfway To Hawaii Game

For as long as I can remember, United Airlines has played a “Halfway to Hawaii” game. Shortly after leveling off on all flights to Hawaii, the captain will come on the PA system and note a number of data points, including:

  • takeoff and landing times
  • air speed
  • wind speed

You then write down what time you believe the flight will cross the halfway line to Hawaii. The person (or usually 3-4 people) who guessed closest to the actual time received a prize like a Hawaiian CD, amenity kit, or Lonely Planet book.

The game was cut during the pandemic, but returned in October.

Starting on March 3rd, the new prize will be a Polaris cooling gel pillow (the kind Untied warned flight attendants to stop customers from stealing).

Do note the game is currently on the honor system, in order to reduce interaction between flight attendants and passengers. A flight attendant memo notes:

To minimize touch points and guarantee consistency across routes, ensure you play the game as an “honor system.” To do this, use the PA to communicate game rules and other information.

The only time you should approach a customer for any game-related interaction is to verify the answers of the first six people to press their call buttons and distribute prizes. Customers wishing to participate must use their own resources for working out the solution, whether on paper or their own personal electronic devices. In previous versions of the game, flight attendants distributed pencils and paper, but under our updated procedures, if asked, please inform customers that you are unable to meet this request.

In the past, you would receive a form to fill out:

a paper with text and pictures on it

a couple of papers on a table

CONCLUSION

Like Mai Tais and macadamia nuts, it’s not earth-shattering, but this game helps to put you in the Hawaiian spirit and is a fun way to pass the time. The addition of Polaris cooling gel pillows is a decent prize.

Have you ever won the Halfway to Hawaii game on United Airlines?

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About Author

Matthew Klint

Matthew is an avid traveler who calls Los Angeles home. Each year he travels more than 200,000 miles by air and has visited more than 135 countries. Working both in the aviation industry and as a travel consultant, Matthew has been featured in major media outlets around the world and uses his Live and Let's Fly blog to share the latest news in the airline industry, commentary on frequent flyer programs, and detailed reports of his worldwide travel.

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22 Comments

  1. Darin Reply
    February 25, 2021 at 11:51 am

    I flew SFO-OGG this week and there was no game! I assumed it went away with COVID, I guess our crew just didn’t choose to play… or the forms weren’t loaded, maybe during the transition to the gel pillow they don’t have any prizes.

  2. Mitch Cumstein Reply
    February 25, 2021 at 12:35 pm

    I won this game on my EWR-HNL flight many years back. I was so excited to win and but my enthusiasm was quickly dampened when I saw my prize. It was was a Don Ho CD. I left it in the seat back pocket. No tiny bubbles for me.

    • Stuart Reply
      February 25, 2021 at 10:17 pm

      You do realize that Don Ho CD’s are currently trending very high in the collectibles market? You totally messed up, Cumstein. Some cleaning crew got it and probably just scored a huge sale on EBay.

      • Jj Reply
        February 25, 2021 at 11:52 pm

        I just won the game on my SFO-OGG flight on Saturday 2/20. I got an amenity kit. Not a Polaris amenity kit but a coach one that had a mask. I think the gel pillow is a nice upgrade!

  3. Ethan Chernicoff Reply
    February 25, 2021 at 1:04 pm

    I flew from LA to Honolulu a few years back on a 737, and there was no game. Any ideas why?

    • Matthew Klint Reply
      February 25, 2021 at 1:04 pm

      Sometimes prizes are not loaded. Sometimes flight attendants are just lazy.

      • Ethan Chernicoff Reply
        February 25, 2021 at 2:37 pm

        the FA’s were active

        • Bryan Reply
          February 26, 2021 at 3:54 pm

          I got the top 3 guesses on 12/25/2011. SFO-HNL, N211UA, my parents and I were in first and I had at it. Won a Hawaii Lonely Planet guidebook!

    • Marc Reply
      February 25, 2021 at 2:07 pm

      It could have been a Continental flight crew.

      • Ethan Chernicoff Reply
        February 25, 2021 at 2:38 pm

        it was about 4 years after the merger

      • GRI, N Reply
        February 25, 2021 at 5:21 pm

        I fly LAX-HNL monthly, and have heard them do this only once in the past three years.

  4. Andy K Reply
    February 25, 2021 at 1:27 pm

    I also flew from LA to HNL just some months ago and this was not performed.

  5. ptahcha Reply
    February 25, 2021 at 1:41 pm

    This was my junior high algebra teacher’s favorite game, as she had mentioned this several times. She has won many bottles of champagne from her trips.

  6. ghee zhong Reply
    February 25, 2021 at 1:51 pm

    I’ve been on at least twelve flights to Hawaii over the past 3 years and they haven’t done the game. Figured they had stopped doing it years ago.

  7. Sexy_kitten7 Reply
    February 25, 2021 at 3:59 pm

    Yeah. I’ve been to HI a few times and don’t remember this game. Ofc, once was via the island hopper. Now that would be tough guess!

  8. Maleko Reply
    February 25, 2021 at 11:00 pm

    Very cool. I remember flying Western Airlines back in the day and they had the halfway game. I believe the prize was a bottle of champagne. They also dished out mai tais from a smoking (dri ice) volcano on a berverage cart! Those were the glory daze of flying.

  9. Scott Schultz Reply
    February 26, 2021 at 4:40 am

    I don’t remember this on my flight from SFO-HNL in 2017. Not a super long flight to begin with anyway, so they might not have done it.

  10. matt Reply
    February 26, 2021 at 6:10 pm

    Umm, United Halfway to Hawaii? How is nobody making the OBVIOUS joke?

  11. matt Reply
    February 26, 2021 at 6:10 pm

    Umm, a United game about Halfway to Hawaii? How is nobody making the OBVIOUS joke?

    • matt Reply
      February 26, 2021 at 6:12 pm

      oops posted this comment twice sorry i’m a newbie

  12. Christina B. Reply
    November 24, 2021 at 11:22 am

    I just won on my flight from LAX to LIH. We had to calculate the time to the nearest second so not as easy to just half the predicted time of arrival. They took the top 2 winners. Not many played on my flight. I was off by 4 minutes. My husband said that one person was only off by 6 seconds on his flight! I didn’t know it was going to be that kind of a prize. I thought I’d get a free drink or something. Anyways, the gel pillows are awesome!

  13. Doug Rodriguez Reply
    May 31, 2022 at 12:27 am

    I just won on my trip from LAX to KOA. First time playing and win a cool gel pillow.

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