American Airlines Flight 8: Honolulu to Dallas/Ft. Worth

The interior of the Boeing 767 used by American Flight for this flight
from Honolulu to Dallas. (photo: TheHopefulTraveler)

American Airlines doesn't fly non-stop to New York City. The options are to fly to one of the airline's hubs in Los Angeles, Dallas/Ft. Worth or Chicago and connect to a flight to one of NYC's three major airports (JFK, LaGuardia or Newark).

I'm taking AA Flight 8 from Honolulu (HNL) departing at 5pm and arriving in Dallas (DFW) tomorrow morning at 5:25am. Then its onto a connecting flight (AA 708) departing at 7:30am and finally arriving at LaGuardia (LGA) at 11:55am Monday morning.

The jet for the flight to Dallas is a Boeing 767 wide-body jet. Thank goodness for priority check-in. It's one of the things that has reduced some of the stress that goes with travel: worrying about overhead bin space for a carry-on bag. Just as I reached the gate at 4:15pm, the passengers were already boarding.

My seat is 21H which is an aisle seat in the exit row. It's one of my favorites seats on this jet since it provides extra legroom. As I got settled in I took the photo above. Seeing the interior of an empty jet is the only way to admire the simple but sleek design. By the way that guy in that center seat already looks uncomfortable.

The American Airlines Boeing 767 jet waiting to depart at Honolulu International.
(photo: TheHopefulTraveler)

Airport Memory at Honolulu International Airport's Gate 12

After passing through security at Honolulu International Airport, I stopped near one of the gates to answer a my cell phone. I happened to stop at Gate 12 at the overseas terminal. That moment brought back a sea of memories. It was here almost twenty years ago in 1993 where I departed on an early morning flight on my first solo trip to London via Los Angeles on Air New Zealand.

I had no experience traveling on my own so it was a lot of preparing before hand and guess work along the way. Two decades later so much has changed in myself and the way the world travels. It was a nearly perfect trip and if I could relive an entire trip, that 1993 trip would be near the top of the list.

Arriving at HNL and Hawaiian Airlines Baggage Claim

Passengers arriving on Hawaiian Airlines flights should be aware that baggage claim is at the inter-island terminal but the flights arrive at the overseas terminal. So deplaning passengers have the option of walking (about 10 minutes) or using the airport's intra-airport shuttles. For the most part shuttle drivers attempt to be waiting for an arriving flight. The buses do crowded once you factor in everyone's carry-on bags.

Arriving at HNL tonight, I opt to walk. It's late evening and cool and I get to stretch my legs. At baggage claim are the usual lei greeters for passengers who have booked the packages.

I was originally scheduled to arrive at 7:15am on an American Airlines flight via a connection made in Los Angeles after what would have been an 11:35am departure from Vegas. But after my flight was cancelled and rebooked on a non-stop flight on Hawaiian, only get in two hours later. The Hawaiian flight left Vegas at 6:15pm and arrived in Honolulu at 9:30pm.

This is the last of my "Las Vegas May 2012" posts. I'll again posting feature articles until my next big trip which is my annual visit to New York City in June.

Honolulu International Airport: Traveling from Inter-Island Terminal to Overseas Terminal

Click HERE to view the larger version of this map on the
Honolulu International Airport website.

Check-in for all Hawaiian Airlines flights is completed at the inter-island terminal regardless of destination. This means if you're flying inter-island the walk to the gate is as close as passing through security. If you're flying to the U.S. mainland or to one the airline's international destinations, you will have a longer distance to walk to the gates at the Ewa overseas terminal. Click HERE to view and download airport terminal maps.

At the inter-island terminal Hawaiian Airlines passengers only one have one security check-point with two lines. After passing through security, you'll find gates 55 to 61 which are used for inter-island Hawaiian flights. Another set of gates numbered 49-53 are located on a peninsula at the south end of the inter-island terminal.

To reach the overseas terminal gates 26-34 where Hawaiian Airlines operates their flights to the U.S. mainland and international destinations, passengers have two options. One is to walk to the south end of the inter-island terminal, hop on to the moving sidewalk and pass through the agriculture station checkpoint to inspect carry-on bags. There is no metal detector to pass through.

After this point, passengers will have to walk along the bridge that connects gates 26-34 to the main terminal building.

Honolulu International intra-airport shuttle bus.
(photo: hawaii.gov)

The other option is take the intra-airport shuttle buses. After passing through security at the inter-island terminal. Look for the escalators or elevators that takes passengers to the third level. On this level is the route traveled by the shuttle. The shuttle drops passengers at an entrance to each of the overseas terminals. The buses operate between 6am and 10pm daily.

Of course if you have time to spare, it might be worth it to take a pause and enjoy the garden in the inter-island terminal. In case you need to purchase a meal before or for the flight, here are your options:

In the inter-island terminal: Burger King, Chow Mein Express, Lani Moo's Tropical Treats, Island Brews & Pizza Hut, Lahaina Chicken, Starbucks Coffee, Stinger Ray's Tropical Bar & Grill.

In the Ewa concourse: Gordon Biersch Restaurant Brewery, Hawaii Market and Starbucks Coffee in addition to some vending machines.

There is a newsstand in each concourse which also sells water, soft drinks, candy and snacks.

The garden open to all passengers in the inter-island terminal.
(photo: TheHopefulTraveler)

Hawaiian Airlines Check-In at Honolulu International

It's all about self check-in at the Hawaiian airlines terminal.
(photo: TheHopefulTraveler)

The ticket lobby of the inter-island terminal (or Terminal 2) is now exclusively used by Hawaiian Airlines. It is in this terminal where all passengers check-in for all of Hawaiian's flights regardless if it is overseas or inter-island.

Aloha Airlines used to occupy of half of the inter-island terminal before its demise in 2008. Mokulele Airlines used some of the gates here before it completely merged with go! which then had its flights relegated to the commuter terminal.

Four check-in pods at the overseas check-in lobby for Hawaiian Airlines.
(photo: TheHopefulTraveler)

The inter-island ticket lobby which was transformed in 2011 to remove the traditional ticket counters is divided into two parts. Lobby 2 (on the mauka or mountain side of the terminal) is used to check-in for Hawaiian's overseas flights. Lobby 3 (on the makai or ocean side of the terminal) is used to check-in for Hawaiian's overseas flights. Each lobby holds pods and at each pod is eight self check-in machines. But what's great is there are one or two Hawaiian agents per pod assisting customers.

Check-in, pay any fees and weigh your bags all in one spot.
(photo: TheHopefulTraveler)

Follow the instructions on the touch screen. Remember to have your confirmation code, e-ticket number or Hawaiian Miles number to access your reservation. Once you have confirmed the itinerary, passengers, seat assignments and weight of checked bags, your boarding passes and luggage tags are printed. Sharp eyed agents will be there to assist with tagging your bags correctly. If you need to pay for checked bags or upgrades, have your credit card ready to complete the transaction.

Agriculture inspection for bags on flights to the mainland or overseas
is moved to be completed after check-in.
(photo: TheHopefulTraveler)

Formerly all bags heading for the mainland or abroad had to pass through agriculture inspection. Now the bags pass through inspection after check-in and after the bags are tagged. As a reminder the purpose of the inspection is to protect the fragile eco-systems outside of the islands. From the check-in kiosk, walk over to the agriculture inspection station located where where the tickets counters used to line the back wall. Your checked bags are also inspected by the TSA at this point.

Gone is the row of check-in counters that used to line this wall.
(photo: TheHopefulTraveler)

Once your checked bag is accepted at agriculture, you can either head directly to security or you can watch your bag pass through the inspection as it rides along the conveyor belt until your bag is no longer in view. There is a separate counter to check-in odd sized bags and personal items such as surfboards. If you need an old-fashioned agent to assist with itinerary changes there is a small customer service counter located near the lobby entrance. But be aware the line at this counter can be long and move extremely slow.

Look for this sign if you need to do what is says.
(photo: TheHopefulTraveler)

Find that your bags exceed the weight limit, head to the "weigh and repacking station" which allows you to shift belongings between bags or remove them completely. If you have no bags to check, you can use any of the kiosks spread throughout the terminal before making your way directly to security. Many passengers not checking bags (usually fliers on inter-island flights) check-in online.

MY EXPERIENCE TODAY
Check-in at noon is crowded at the inter-island terminal. I am checking in for a direct flight to Las Vegas on Hawaiian Airlines so I head to the part of the lobby devoted to overseas flights check-in.

There is one small problem with the pods. Each kiosk at the pods has its own line so this means eight lines at each pod. The bothersome thing here is if you're behind someone who is slow or having problems at check-in you may have to jump to another line. I think at each pod station there should be one line. Then passengers will have any one of the eight available as they become free.

I have used these check-in kiosks before. But for some reason the machines are running very slow as it changes from screen to screen. By the time my boarding passes were printed a Hawaiian Airlines agent was there to help me tag my one checked bag.

The line to drop off the bags at agriculture was long stretching almost the entire length of the lobby. So I waited at one of the few places to sit in the lobby. As soon as the line shortened I dropped off my bag and then made sure it makes its way onto the conveyor belt. Now on to the gates.

Going Back To Vegas on Hawaiian Airlines For Work

Hawaiian Airlines planes at the overseas terminal at Honolulu
International Airport. A Hawaiian Boeing 767 sits front and center.
(photo: TheHopefulTraveler)

It's been four years since I traveled to Las Vegas, Nevada. But this trip would be something different. For a change I'll be flying Hawaiian Airlines rather than American Airlines and I'll be flying to the mainland for business rather than pleasure.

I've flown Hawaiian to the U.S. mainland but that was nearly twenty years ago when American allowed passengers to earn miles in their Aadvantage program on all Hawaiian flights. Once I even flew the two airlines in one trip, using Hawaiian to fly to the Los Angeles and then continue on American to New York City and using the same airlines for the return trip.

But then someone at American had the bright idea that they prefer you fly their airline to the U.S. mainland if you want to earn miles. Thus Aadvantage members could longer earn miles on Hawaiian to the West Coast. But the airline allowed miles to be earned on Hawaiian's inter-island flights provided the airfare was not cheap (determined by the booking code).

The whole situation became convoluted that it was just simpler to also become a member of Hawaiian Miles. Combining the numerous business trips to Kauai, Maui and the Big Island and at least three vacations to the mainland or abroad annually, I found myself becoming an elite member in two airline programs each year: My vacation flying on American allowed me to reach at least Aadvantage Gold and business flying had me reaching Puulani Gold on Hawaiian Airlines.

Today I fly on Hawaiian Airlines round-trip to Las Vegas not by choice. It's a business trip paid for by the professional organization to which I belong because Hawaiian has the cheapest airfares to Sin City.

The posts over the next four days will cover what was seen and done around attending a conference at the Paris Las Vegas resort.

Qantas A380 Lands At Honolulu International Airport

Photo of a Qantas A380 sitting on the tarmac at Honolulu International
Airport this morning. (photo credit: Reece Frazier)

Currently none of the international carriers flying the A380 super jumbo jet stops at Honolulu International Airport nor is the airport's terminal ready to accommodate the jet.

But for the second time a Qantas A380 super jumbo jet made an emergency landing in Honolulu. This morning a flight originally bound for Melbourne, Australia from Los Angeles diverted to Honolulu for unknown medical emergency. Reports indicate the plane would remain overnight due to crew hours.

Back in February of last year another Qantas A380 traveling from Sydney, Australia to Los Angeles made an emergency landing also due to a medical emergency. The plane with 330 passengers on board waited about an hour before taking off again to California.

The video below show how massive the plane actually is as it parks at one of gates at Honolulu International.