Hawaiian Airways is providing a brand new possibility for vacationers to skip the road and transfer by way of Honolulu’s Daniel Okay. Inouye Worldwide Airport (HNL) with a bit extra consolation. And the service consists of entry to an unique new lounge.
The airline not too long ago unveiled its Premium Airport Service in Honolulu. To faucet into the advantages, you do not have to have HawaiianMiles elite standing, carry a bank card that features lounge entry or journey on a business- or first-class ticket.
You simply must be flying with Hawaiian and be prepared to pay for the service.
Need extra airline-specific information? Join TPG’s free biweekly Aviation publication.
Hawaiian’s new concierge-esque program features a host of paid perks, which shift in scope (and price) relying on whether or not you are arriving, departing or connecting in Honolulu.
The array of companies consists of precedence baggage dealing with, an escort by way of the terminals and, contingent in your plans, a personal chauffeur between terminals, or to and from the airport’s rental automobile facility.
Plus, departing and connecting passengers get entry to Hawaiian’s new, unique lounge in Terminal 1: Residence 1929, named for the 12 months the airline was based. The lounge soft-launched in December however is now absolutely open to vacationers who need to purchase their means in.
Now, these perks definitely do not come low-cost: Departure companies, which embrace entry to Residence 1929, begin at $750 for a celebration of two. Arrival companies begin at $500 for a celebration of two.
It is price noting that in quite a lot of instances, you’d pay much less for a journey bank card that carries a 12 months’s price of lounge entry at airports throughout the nation (amongst different perks).
Each day E-newsletter
Reward your inbox with the TPG Each day publication
Be part of over 700,000 readers for breaking information, in-depth guides and unique offers from TPG’s consultants
However, for those who’d choose a one-time expense to make your expertise on the airport a bit much less hectic, the brand new service may definitely make for a extra fulfilling journey by way of the terminals.
Hawaiian unveils Residence 1929 lounge
The centerpiece of Hawaiian’s new, premium airport service is its Residence 1929 lounge, which is situated proper close to The Plumeria Lounge in Honolulu’s Terminal 1.
That includes an array of tables and sofas for consuming, ingesting or stress-free, the airline payments Residence 1929 as a personal lounge, which is offered to paying vacationers departing from the airport or on a connection.
Guests to Residence 1929 may have entry to a full food and drinks menu, which features a cocktail listing curated by Bar Leather-based Apron, a James Beard award-winning bar in downtown Honolulu. Friends will place a meals order earlier than arriving on the airport, as a part of the check-in course of with the Residence 1929 concierge.
For those who’ve grown uninterested in airport lounge overcrowding, you definitely will not discover it right here. Residence 1929 can accommodate as much as 24 company at one time, however even that doubtless makes it sound much less tranquil than it’s.
The lounge provides a “quiet and stress-free setting brimming with the delicate sounds of Hawaiian music,” the airline says.
The area features a personal room that may maintain as much as eight company.
Past that, there’s only a handful of tables — each indoor and outside — that may every seat not more than 4 guests.
Residence 1929 additionally consists of bathe services in case you need to clean up throughout a layover or earlier than an extended flight to the U.S. mainland or Asia.
Different departure companies
As a part of the premium airport departure companies, a Hawaiian consultant will greet you on the curb in entrance of the terminal, or on the rental automobile facility for those who’re returning a automobile.
The service consists of precedence baggage dealing with, an expedited Transportation Safety Administration checkpoint lane, an escort by way of the airport (who will help you with any carry-on baggage) and precedence boarding when you’re on the plane.
In case your gate is in Terminal 2, you will get a personal driver to the terminal.
And, as soon as on the gate, you will have precedence boarding.
Arrival companies
For these wanting to make use of the service after an arrival in Honolulu, the service features a greeting from a Hawaiian consultant on the plane door, who will help with any baggage.
Then, you will get a personal escort to your transportation — together with a personal driver from Terminal 2, and to the rental automobile facility for those who’re choosing up a automobile.
Don’t be concerned about stopping by baggage declare: So long as you are staying on the island of Oahu, the airline will switch your bag proper to your lodge.
Connection companies
Hawaiian additionally provides a mixture of those companies to vacationers making a connection in Honolulu, from driver help from Terminal 2 to precedence boarding, an escort by way of the airport and entry to Residence 1929.
Is Hawaiian Airways’ new premium service price it?
For rare vacationers with some nerves about navigating the airport, there definitely are some advantages to this service.
For arriving passengers, there’s comfort in handing off your carry-on baggage on the plane door and getting an escort by way of the terminal — even perhaps to your automobile rental pickup, to not point out having your baggage dropped off at your lodge.
Vacationers may also doubtless benefit from the quieter, extra seamless expertise of stress-free in Residence 1929 earlier than a flight versus the louder, extra crowded airport concourses.
Nevertheless, frequent vacationers who have already got elite standing, lounge entry and TSA PreCheck could need to weigh the prices and advantages of this new expertise.
In any case, the departure companies begin at $750 for a celebration of two.
For $695(see charges and charges) yearly, The Platinum Card® from American Categorical, for example, will get you a full 12 months’s price of entry to Centurion Lounges and Precedence Move Choose lounges globally, together with a few Precedence Move choices in Honolulu. Enrollment is required.
Different playing cards, just like the Capital One Enterprise X Rewards Credit score Card ($395 annual charge (see charges and charges) and Chase Sapphire Reserve ($550 annual charge), additionally embrace a 12 months’s price of lounge entry all over the world — together with lounges in Honolulu.
For what it is price, the airport additionally consists of airline lounges from every of the key world alliances, together with an American Airways Admirals Membership and a Delta Air Strains Sky Membership.
For charges and charges of the Amex Platinum Card, click on right here