Originally Posted by
passy777
Just returned last week from LAX-HNL-LAX flying AA - not a very nice experience… I managed to book the exit seats on the 757 for both sectors, but that had its disadvantages as every passenger queuing for the toilet decided to use the space in front of us to congregate. One soft drink is all you get for a six hour flight - unless you wish to pay for food or alcohol.
Your experience seems pretty normal for a CA-HI flight on a domestic US carrier. You can avoid AA in future but sadly most narrowbody flights on domestic US aircraft to Hawaii are going to be quite similar in Y, so you're likely to find the experience rather the same.
Flying in Y on a domestic US flight is not the greatest experience on any US airline, particularly on a narrowbody aircraft; VX and B6 are decent in Y but they don't fly to Hawaii yet. While I'm sure there is some variation, I don't know that other narrowbodies on any other US carriers going to Hawaii would be significantly better. Fortunately AA and other carriers do fly widebodies to Hawaii which one could choose in future.
On the narrowbody aircraft you mention (which sounds like it was one of the older 757s that has not yet undergone the ongoing modernisation programme which includes fitting of Main Cabin Extra seating in Y with additional legroom), I find that 10 A or F are great Y seats, with full recline, a window, two metres of legroom, and the ability to come and go as one pleases without stepping over anyone or asking anyone to move. I'm guessing you were in row 9, which I try to avoid for the reasons you mentioned.
Non-alcoholic drinks are complimentary and are available throughout the flight by ringing the call bell or by visiting the galley at the rear of the aircraft. Passengers are not limited to just one. This is also fairly standard for domestic US legacy carriers.
Domestic AA lounge standards are also generally in line with other US carriers; You may even have benefitted from a slightly higher quality lounge offering in HNL if any JL flights were due to depart around the same time (they upgrade the food offering slightly when that happens). And the AC at LAX has standards that meet or exceed those of most US domestic lounges. Again I don't think that any other domestic US carriers will offer better lounges for this kind of domestic flight.
The best ways to have a more pleasant journey to Hawaii are to either avoid sitting in Y or to fly on a non-US carrier. You can also try taking a widebody but the experience in Y is likely to be fairly similar.
IMO the best way to Hawaii from LHR is in a premium cabin via NRT on JL or via ICN on KE ^