20170701

20170411: HA855: HoNoluLu » HaNeDa


Date: 2017/04/11
Flight: HA855
STD/ATD (Push Back): 1755HST/1741HST
STA/ATA (Touch Down): 2205JST/2139JST
Aircraft/Registration: A330-200/N730HA
Class: Business (Restricted Fare)
Seat: Hawaiian New Business Class

Prologue

This is the return flight, saying a sad goodbye to Paradise.


Pre-boarding

Check-in
Although this was an international flight, check-in was at Terminal 2, the "inter-island terminal."   When I arrived at 16:20, there was no wait.  Check-in was done in about 5 minutes.

There were only a few people in line for security and the whole process took about 5 minutes.  I thought people didn't have to take off their shoes anymore but I was wrong.

After security, there was a Starbucks, some fast food outlets.  In general, this terminal had a very provincial, by charming look and feel.


Lounge
As a first timer, it took me a while to find the right lounge. I had wandered into the busy "Premier Club" and was told I had to go to the "The Plumeria", one level above.

This lounge looked a lot more peaceful than the "Premier Club." There were only a handful of people.  Food offerings were limited but that was expected, matching my expectation of business class lounges in the U.S.  However, their extensive offerings of premium tea (yes tea!) compensated for the lack of decent food.

On Board

Cushion-cum-pillow

Seats
Hawaiian Airlines was in the midst of introducing their new business class (aka "first class" in domestic US) seats.  At the time of booking, an aircraft with older business class seats was assigned to this flight.  Thus, I was pleasantly surprised when upon boarding, I found the new upgraded business seats, the same ones that had brought me to HNL.

A nice feature that I have yet to mention is how the cushion/pillow can be strapped onto the back of the seat with the built-in elastic band to make a very comfortable headrest. Usually, I wouldn't know what to do with those mini pillows, taking up too mush real-estate of my seat.  This is an elegant and useful solution.

Food
Though I was seated by 17:35, ahead of the 17:55 departure, I was once again the last to board.  And for that, once again, no Mai Tai was offered.

After take-off, drinks and warm nuts were offered.  Since they didn't have any sparkling mineral water, I had water.

There were choices of Japanese or Western dinner.  I had the western, which was a two-course affair.  I guess the first course was an appetizer; Prosciutto and Asparagus Salad with Grilled Shrimp.  There were 3 choices of main dish and I had (1) the Minced Beef and Sauteed Vegetables with Oyster Sauce and Chow Fun Noodles.  The other choices were (2) Salmon Filet Wrapped in Rice Paper and Sage with Edamame Spinach Risotto, and (3) Spicy Eggplant with Lilikoi Sauce and Steamed Thai Jasmine Rice.

Desert was Passion Chocolate Cake.  Again, I like how full-size mugs were used for tea/coffee. Though the minced-beef was a little too salty, everything else was tasty and satisfying.

Appetizers: Prosciutto and Asparagus Salad with Grilled Shrimp

Minced Beef and Sauteed Vegetables with Oyster Sauce and Chow Fun Noodles.
Passion Chocolate Cake

About 80 minutes before touch down, a pre-landing meal was served; Hawaiian Style BBQ Chicken Sandwich with Grilled Pineapple, with a small dish of fresh fruits.  Delicious and surprisingly satisfying.

Hawaiian Style BBQ Chicken Sandwich with Grilled Pineapple

Service
Flight attendants friendly, but sometimes too enthusiastic. When hot towels were handed out, I was busy in filling out the Japanese customs form or whatnot. I'd put the towel to the side, on the armrest. Before I had a chance to use the towel, an overly enthusiastic flight attendant used her tongs to retrieve the used towel. Before I could say something to stop her, the towel had landed in her tray of used towels. When I said I haven't used it yet, she said "oopps," shrugged her shoulders and that was that.  I thought she was going to bring me another towel but I was mistaken. And that set the tone for the rest of the in-flight service. Service was rushed. It was obvious that the crew had a schedule to go by. However, they cared more about sticking to the schedule then if, for example, I had finished using the towel, or some other passenger has had enough time to finish the meal before asking to collect the plates.

I'd noticed the in-seat a/c power outlets weren't activated. I asked the same enthusiastic flight attendant for help. But she needed to get help from her colleagues. Four hours after take-off, the in-seat a/c power outlet started to work.

I sat in the bulkhead and noticed something for the very first time; whenever the cockpit crew needs to use the toilet right outside the cockpit door, they would phone the FA. One of them would then use a food cart to block the passage from the cabin into the galley, as a security precaution. That's all good. On this particular flight, the captain was particularly chatty with the FAs. After he has done his business, he would chat with the FAs, leaving the food cart blocking the exit. And he used the toilet a few times and every time he would chat with the FAs for a few minutes. So, even though there wasn't a queue for the toilet, I found myself having to wait for the captain to finish his chat before I could use the bathroom myself. There is nothing wrong with this. It's merely a note to myself.

Unlike the flight from Haneda, I was free to use my GoPro suction-cupped onto the window.

A good blanket.
One last thing to mention; the blanket provided is not the usual flimsy, prone to static electricity ones found on other airlines, it's a comfortable duvet-like blanket.

Epilogue

Similar to the flight from Haneda, an amenity kit (but in a different color,) and a small box of Honolulu cookies were offered.  These were not only nice touches but it worked well with the overall branding of the airline, as well as Hawaii itself.   There is no better way to fly to and from Hawaii.


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