Hawaii Travelers Brace As Comfort Collapse Spreads Across Airlines

Above, a Kona Airport gate. Photo by Armand Vaquer.

Flights to Hawaii from Los Angeles are five hours in length. At one time, wide body aircraft ruled the routes from the mainland to the islands. 

Airlines are dropping two-aisle aircraft for smaller one-aisle aircraft sacrificing comfort. Flying to Hawaii was once an enjoyable experience. No longer. People are treated like cattle.

Beat of Hawaii has posted an article on how the airlines are treating air travel to Hawaii like any other domestic flight. 

They begin it with:

Flights to Hawaii once defined aviation. There was a time when flying to Hawaii was not only a big deal for passengers but also for the airlines themselves. Pan Am, TWA, and United all built prestige around their Hawaii services. The Boeing 747 and other wide-bodies turned the Pacific crossing into a statement of comfort. Lounges, two aisles, and a sense of occasion were part of the journey.

Those days are gone. Hawaii has now been reduced to what airlines treat as another domestic run. For the carriers, it is simply a five-hour flight to manage with maximum efficiency, no different in their playbook than service to Des Moines. The sense of grandeur that once surrounded Hawaii flying has slipped away.

To read more, go here.