I've been flying inter-island with Hawaiian since 1999 (back then on DC-9s with hand-written ticket vouchers), and like a typical FlyerTalker, have flown
hundreds of thousands of miles on other airlines since that time as well. I'm quite accustomed to hearing the same recorded messages every time I fly on an airline, and hearing flight attendants read the same prepared script, every time I fly a given route. Hawaiian's flight attendants are among the most pleasant I've encountered anywhere, but they still pretty much stick to the script.
So I was quite surprised - and
pleasantly so - when "Liz," the lead FA on HA 260 from HNL-ITO today, began her announcement by greeting us all in Hawaiian and English, told us the flying time would be 35 minutes (as always), then proceeded to tell us that downtown Honolulu and Waikiki would be visible from the left side of the plane shortly after takeoff, followed by Molokai, Maui, Lanai and Kahoolawe, and that those on the right side of the plane would get to see the Hamakua Coast, Mauna Kea and possibly Mauna Loa (depending on the clouds) during our descent. After the flight, she also bid us farewell bilingually.
I know where the scenery is on HNL-ITO, having flown it dozens if not hundreds of times - but I also know that plane
wasn't full of kama'aina. So I'm glad there are flight attendants out there who still put more into the job than the minimum required, and glad to have had "Liz" working my flight. HA Consumer Affairs got a very favorable message about her. ^