Hawaii-based Airlines - Big thumbs down for HA on the HNL - SYD flight

I board the plane in HNL to discover my seat is broken - it will not stay reclined - seems to be broken internally and so very uncomfortable.

So, I have a look at other seats on the plane... the row before the crew rest is empty so I pop myself into that, sitting politely waiting and not unpacking myself, to see if any other passenger boards who is assigned that seat.

No one arrives and the doors close! yah! I will be comfortable!

Then an Attendant arrives and very nicely tells me it is a crew rest row. I dispute this as it is the row in front of crew rest (you can tell because the curtain that wraps around ends in the row behind). Also, the mirror seats on the other side of the plane have passengers in them. They say 'sorry you need to move'. This was all very polite, I accepted it in good grace they have rights too.

So I am made to move back to my seat.

Later in the flight I see they have let passengers sit in various crew seats including that row I had been inwhile I have a sore back from my stupid seat and have annoyed the person behind me as my seat rocked back and forward for 10 hours!

Livid!!!!! :mad::mad::mad:

Of course I can write to them blah blah blah but what's the point, it doesn't change anything.

I board the plane in HNL to discover my seat is broken - it will not stay reclined - seems to be broken internally and so very uncomfortable.

So, I have a look at other seats on the plane... the row before the crew rest is empty so I pop myself into that, sitting politely waiting and not unpacking myself, to see if any other passenger boards who is assigned that seat.

No one arrives and the doors close! yah! I will be comfortable!

Then an Attendant arrives and very nicely tells me it is a crew rest row. I dispute this as it is the row in front of crew rest (you can tell because the curtain that wraps around ends in the row behind). Also, the mirror seats on the other side of the plane have passengers in them. They say 'sorry you need to move'. This was all very polite, I accepted it in good grace they have rights too.

So I am made to move back to my seat.

Later in the flight I see they have let passengers sit in various crew seats including that row I had been inwhile I have a sore back from my stupid seat and have annoyed the person behind me as my seat rocked back and forward for 10 hours!

Livid!!!!! :mad::mad::mad:

Of course I can write to them blah blah blah but what's the point, it doesn't change anything.
Why didn't you tell the flight attendant that your seat was broken in the beginning? :confused:

I did, there weren't any other suitable seats (not in a rush to sit in a middle of a row on a long day flight).

I did, there weren't any other suitable seats (not in a rush to sit in a middle of a row on a long day flight).
Hmm. You might want to contact the HA's Consumer Affairs Office at (888) 246-8526. There's also an online form that you can submit at the following link...
http://www.hawaiianair.com/cao

They usually respond to complaints within 30 business days. At the very least, they should give you some frequent flyer miles for your discomfort.

Of course I can write to them blah blah blah but what's the point, it doesn't change anything.

I agree. There is little point and it is unlikely to change anything, though there is a slim chance they could throw you some miles for the inconvenience if you contacted Consumer Affairs. It will do little to compensate for the hours of frustration and discomfort you experienced.

Unfortunately, the Hawaiian of recent years shows its passengers very little aloha. :(

I agree. There is little point and it is unlikely to change anything, though there is a slim chance they could throw you some miles for the inconvenience if you contacted Consumer Affairs. It will do little to compensate for the hours of frustration and discomfort you experienced.

Unfortunately, the Hawaiian of recent years shows its passengers very little aloha. :(
If Hawaiian Airlines doesn't know there's a problem, how can they change anything? :confused:

At the very least, they need to know about the broken seat on the aircraft because it's a maintenance as well as a safety issue.

Here are a few names and e-mail addresses to get the ball rolling if the Consumer Affairs Office doesn't resolve the issue within 30 business days...:cool:
Rose B. Harman, Consumer Affairs Manager -- harman@hawaiianair.com
Blaine J. Miyasato, Vice-President Customer Services -- miyasato@hawaiianair.com
Mark B. Dunkerley, President and CEO -- dunkerley@hawaiianair.com

I board the plane in HNL to discover my seat is broken - it will not stay reclined - seems to be broken internally and so very uncomfortable.

So, I have a look at other seats on the plane... the row before the crew rest is empty so I pop myself into that, sitting politely waiting and not unpacking myself, to see if any other passenger boards who is assigned that seat.

No one arrives and the doors close! yah! I will be comfortable!

Then an Attendant arrives and very nicely tells me it is a crew rest row. I dispute this as it is the row in front of crew rest (you can tell because the curtain that wraps around ends in the row behind). Also, the mirror seats on the other side of the plane have passengers in them. They say 'sorry you need to move'. This was all very polite, I accepted it in good grace they have rights too.

So I am made to move back to my seat.

Later in the flight I see they have let passengers sit in various crew seats including that row I had been inwhile I have a sore back from my stupid seat and have annoyed the person behind me as my seat rocked back and forward for 10 hours!

Livid!!!!! :mad::mad::mad:

Of course I can write to them blah blah blah but what's the point, it doesn't change anything.

There is a point. writing to them will hopefully change their policy and give you points. Writing to them will also help people on future flights who do not want to experience what you did. Writing to them will will help you and others. I will write to the BBB and local news if necessary.

I did, there weren't any other suitable seats (not in a rush to sit in a middle of a row on a long day flight).

So it's not that there were no other seats available, but rather you deemed those offered to you, that is the middle seat, were inferior to a broken seat?

If that is the case what is the actual complaint? No seat position is guaranteed, and whilst I would not want to sit in a middle seat on a long-haul flight surely that would have been preferable to sitting in a broken seat then complaining about having a sore back.

I do agree that if there is an issue with your seat you should always let the crew know so they can record it and maintenance can fix it before some sucker has to sit in that seat on the next flight.

So it's not that there were no other seats available, but rather you deemed those offered to you, that is the middle seat, were inferior to a broken seat?

If that is the case what is the actual complaint? No seat position is guaranteed, and whilst I would not want to sit in a middle seat on a long-haul flight surely that would have been preferable to sitting in a broken seat then complaining about having a sore back.


Thanks for all the comments above. I did ensure the Attendant made a note of the seat so it would be fixed for the next poor soul. I did write to them also and received a very token discount for a future flight.

Toula - I think you may have missed the point a little - I was kicked out of a seat that wasn't a crew rest but told it was and it was then later occupied by other passengers. That is the big rub for me.

Thanks for all the comments above. I did ensure the Attendant made a note of the seat so it would be fixed for the next poor soul. I did write to them also and received a very token discount for a future flight.

Toula - I think you may have missed the point a little - I was kicked out of a seat that wasn't a crew rest but told it was and it was then later occupied by other passengers. That is the big rub for me.

Glad to hear you reported the seat as broken as there is nothing more frustrating than getting into a seat that was obviously broken on a previous flight that no-one has bothered to report. A discount coupon is not much use if they have annoyed you so much you don't want to fly with them again.

I'll agree that the situation is frustrating that they allowed other passengers to sit in those seats. However you do not know if those passengers were connected to the crew in anyway. I do think it is unfair that not all passengers are treated equally, you may have just snagged the FA who was in a pissy mood, whereas any of the rest of the crew would have said yes. The problem is your complaint comes down to a "he said she said" situation.

As to the suggestions that you write to the media and the BBB that smacks of total over reaction and would only come across as you believing you have a sense of entitlement. I think there are better ways in this world to expend you energies and some things you just have to let go and move on.

IMO, you are a way out of line Toula.

-David

IMO, you are a way out of line Toula.

-David

Sorry that was definitely not my intent.

My position on such things is sometimes it is better just to let it go. Stewing over these things does one no good, in this case my feeling would be that russmeyergirl is unlikely to ever get a satisfactory answer from HA.

As to my final comment "and would only come across as you believing you have a sense of entitlement" - note I did not say you have a sense of entitlement, rather I was trying to stress how it may be perceived.