I saw this thread and it's basically the exact same situation we faced (our gate changed twice and the flight to SMF seemed to get our original plane):

http://www.flyertalk.com/forum/hawai...ive-stats.html

I actually chose HA over AS and DL because they were #1 in service and on-time performance. I also didn't know that they outsource major maintenance to Auckland... I've never heard of an airline that wouldn't do that at their major hub (though I am sure there are plenty smaller airlines out there that outsource). My fault for not doing the proper research, I'll probably end up using the credits for an interisland flight and fly AS between HNL and the mainland.