Advice Please on ATL-HNL!
We recently found that my husband has 9 siblings and a ton of nieces and nephews in Hawaii that he’s never met, an exciting discovery (as they had known about him and have awaited the reunion that they hoped would come!). Now, it’s time to get to Hawaii to meet them all and I need some advice please (as needless to say this truly is a "trip of a lifetime") 
Our current plan is for May 2017 – my husband served in the USMC for 29 years, so we are fortunate to have the option to stay at Hale Koa in Waikiki. We thought it might be best to leave Atlanta for Honolulu on a morning flight and arrive early afternoon; comfortable seating is critical for any longer portion (First Class), but a sleeper a little less critical on this leg I think. Our preference is no more than 1 relatively short stop.
We originally thought of returning on a Saturday, but given the time lost coming back, I have thought perhaps we should instead fly on the Friday night (checking out of the hotel on time, but hanging out around the area and hotel and then getting on a later flight and arrive early or by around lunch on Saturday. It seems many people must do this as there appear to be mostly late afternoon and evening flights scheduled from HNL – ATL! At this point, the idea is to get a sleeper type of First Class seating for this leg (at least for any overnight portion).
I’ve tried to look at Seatguru.com in order to check different planes/seating, but their slideshows are on the blink (rotten luck!). But I’m trying to find the best airline, plane, and schedules for both coming and going and any help would be greatly appreciated! I don’t want to end up with an old, uncomfortable plane for these prices.
Also… our original thinking on this was to buy 120 or so days out, but I don’t want to risk getting blocked from decent flights and seats (since there are many fewer First Class seats). Anyone have thoughts on that, early booking vs. pricing? 
Thanks for any help you can offer!
The McBees
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