cblaisd

Don't know how long this has been going on, but I noticed today that HA now has all the old AQ gates. They've also put in a service center at the same desk where the old AQ one was.

It's a bit of a hike from Gate 52 to the Premier Club!

Ripper3785

Oh c'mon. It's not THAT far.

I'm more surprised that many of the mainland bound HA departures are often using the center concourse. Now THAT is far.

Yes I know one can hop on the wiki, but I generally prefer the walk.

cblaisd

Well, true. Particularly since I didn't have to walk back to it today. Cleared standby on the flight two hours before my scheduled one. I and another Gold hopped to the top of the dozen-person list. So I didn't have to test your assertion

DanTravels

Last time I flew ITO-HNL, I seem to recall taking off from a gate that was a right-turn after coming up the right-hand escalator from the waiting area.

JimNastic

This was posted in the Airliners.net forum on 08/29 by HALFA:

Just got word today that HA will start utilizing AQ's old gates at HNL starting as early as Wednesday, September 3rd. The current plan is for HA's inter-island flights to depart out of gates 52-57. In addition, HA will utilize gates 58-61 for Trans Pacific and West Coast flights. These gates are currently used by HA for inter-island flights only.
This will be a huge improvement for our operations at HNL. There will still not be enough gates at the inter-island terminal to handle all of our early afternoon departures to the West Coast, but it will certainly make things easier for passengers on the flights operating out of that terminal.
No word yet as to which 767 flights will be leaving from the inter-island terminal, but I am hoping that this will bring an end to our 767 flights departing and arriving at the center concourse of the main terminal. (Gates 14-23)
If I get word of a more detailed plan, I will pass it along, but this is very good news for HA!

Aloha,
HALFA

Link to thread

DanTravels

That certainly is interesting... More than once I flew ITO-HNL at 06:43 and had to dash out to around gate 30 for the 08:10 HNL-LAX; this should make that process a lot easier. And if the inter-island flights come in at gates 52-57, maybe I'll have a little less of a walk down to NW turf.

I look forward to seeing 767s towering over the go! CRJs, too.

cblaisd

Perhaps they can run a couple of those go! Barbie Jets down?

I think this is a very good move -- except there is hardly room in the high 50s gates for folks getting on an inter-island plane. It's gonna be a mess with a 767-load of people bunched around the jetway.

I would also think that this will mean ag machine carry-on inspections for everyone going into the inter-island terminal, unless (a la the way AQ use to do it from gate 53[?] there is a way that HA is planning to segregate mainland-bound pax and do ag machine carry-on screening at the gate somehow.

slippahs

Or they can just do it the way they do it at the domestic terminal? Where the ag folks have their own separate monitors in the regular TSA screening.

cblaisd

Maybe I'm not understanding, but I think that is what I meant by this:

slippahs

Perhaps. Let me elaborate so I know we're on the same page.

The TSA scanners at the overseas terminal at HNL also have ag cameras that scan the bags. The ag folks are within the security screening area with their own monitors. That's why there's no need for a separate ag screening machine at HNL for carry on bags.

That's what I was referring to, just as a clarification. Maybe they'll have a similar set up by upgrading the TSA screening machines at HNL's interisland terminal to match the domestic terminal.

cblaisd

I see. Gotcha.

I was thinking of the machine on the walkway between the Inter-island and Overseas terminal.

slippahs

That's probably more likely, since that way the ag screeners wouldn't have to screen every interisland carry on bag mixed in with the CONUS bags.

cblaisd

I do think it would be relatively easy for HA to put in some access controls with carry-on screening machines at the points where you go from the (as HA calls it) "holding area" to the hallway/concourse where the gates are.

But it would still be a huge crush of folks.

It'll be interesting to see how they adapt.

HNL

HA has operated the widebody trans pacific flights from gates 60/61 in the past - so they've dealt with the Ag Inspection issue before.

cblaisd

Curious: how did they do that in terms of the ag machine setup?