pashber

Well, no responses to my submission, so I will close this by saying that I GOT MY MONEY BACK (or, at least the Hawaiian Air consumer advocate sent an email this morning stating that I would get the amount credited on my credit card).

I showed up at HNL airport for my flight (#22 to SEA) but was confounded to find out that the area was covered with check-in kiosks (with only 2 agents circulating). I showed the baggage disclosures to the agent, and while she appeared sympathetic, said she had no authority to change the luggage fees listed on the kiosk check-in machine ($120). I was told I would have to get into line to speak to one of two customer service agents. There were 20 people ahead of me in a very slow moving line. There was a third agent who appeared, so I asked him about the luggage fees, and he said: a stopover = new baggage charges. Again, they still got it wrong. So I had no choice but to pay.

What forced Hawaiian's hand? A complaint I filed online with the Department of Transportation. It's a pretty cool feature--I got there by googling--and I was able to compose the complaint and attach documents (the e-ticket confirmation and Hawaiian' baggage disclosure). I had read through most of DOT's discussion of the baggage fee disclosure rule (effective January 2012) and was pretty sure Hawaiian had violated the rule, but didn't expect any result. So I was surprised to find out that DOT had forwarded the complaint to Hawaiian (probably immediately) and they responded positively (what else could they do)?

While I realize that my issue was pretty unusual, I hope that it may be of help to others who may find themselves in the same boat.

One other thing to note: they DO weigh carry-ons at the kiosks, and the 25 pound rule is STRICTLY enforced. We had to remove 15 pounds of stuff, but fortunately, we were carrying personal items with a ton of space, so we managed to get everything stuffed in.