Interisland Flights: Aloha vs. Hawaiian
 

HAWAIIAN VS. ALOHA

I have 8 inter island flights coming up on my July trip to Hawaii and I am at odds about which airline is better, Aloha or Hawaiian. (I guess Island Air too if anyone flies it much) The flight times and costs are about the same and putting bankruptcy emersions and declarations aside, which airline do you all prefer??

BTW, if any have not seen my other post about which side of the plane to sit on for these flights, I would love for your comments on that post as well!

I'm sure other posters will know more than I do, but I did want to relate that our experience with Hawaiian was so-so. The line everybody up festival style then just load up the plane until full. Except they don't handle that arrangement in an orderly manner like say, Southwest does.

The remaining people in line just wait for the next flight. In our case that meant the whole group of about 150 switched to another gate. Then we all ended up having to switch back to the first gate when they put another plane there. Reservations on the first flight meant nothing at all. Kind of frustrating. Anyone else had this experience?

Hawaiian now has assigned seating on interisland flights.

Ken

My wife and I have flown both Hawaiian and Aloha on interisland flights numerous times over many years, and I don't think either one is better than the other. Neither has reserved seating on these short flights.

Regarding which side of the plane to sit on:
On your way INTO Honolulu sit on the right side as you face forward. On your way OUT of Honolulu sit in the left side as you face forward. That way you will see the great view of Waikiki both on the way in and on the way out.

LOTS of information about Maui sights, activities, hotels, restaurants, at
www.mauihawaii.org

I was told by Hawaiian that they did not assign seats. This is for a flight next April.
I will be disappointed if they shift us to another flight and we spend a half a day in an airport! Hopefully I will be able to get an assigned seat as we get closer.

Hawaiian does assign seats now. Not much difference in the planes or service.
sgorces must have encountered an odd situation. Hawaiian has one of the best on-time records in the industry. I've never heard of plane loads of passengers being shifted to a different flight than the one they had reservations on.

I've never noticed any difference at all between them. In 7 trips to Hawaii, I don't think I could tell you on any given trip which airline I was on.

I'm not up-to-date on the situation, but I know Aloha had been planning on getting rid of first class seats on interisland flights. I'm not sure if that's happened yet or if Hawaiian followed suit, though.

Because I prefer to be comfortable during my frequent inter-island business trips, it's always Hawaiian Air for me. I tried Aloha...quickly went back to Hawaiian. Newer, quieter fleet of planes with wider (hoooooboy, I need that!) seats, updated interiors, and (IMHO) nicer crews.

To reiterate -- Hawaiian Air DOES assign all their seating now...but they still pre-board Premier Club, First Class, kids flying alone, and those needing assistance.