It is kind of sad to see AS's service going down. My experience with AS so far is still good but this case was not handled well for sure.

I think money/voucher/certificate is not a strong concern for people who buy F directly. The most important thing to him is the convenience of infant and wife. So redeye might not be an option. I would suggest to force AS to buy HA for them and if AS refuses, just cancel the return trip and buy HA instead. HA has very convinient schedule with HNL connection which is not a problem at all. The experience of interisland flight is amazing and impressive. And the service on HA is comparable or even better than AS from my only once experience. A sample flight is here:

Mon, May 8

11:57 AM – 12:35 PM
Kahului (OGG) – Honolulu (HNL)
Hawaiian 395 · First Class · Boeing 717
Standard recliner seat
0h 38m
No Wi-Fi
No in-seat power
Layover in Honolulu HNL1h 05m

1:40 PM – 10:00 PM
Honolulu (HNL) – Sacramento (SMF)
Hawaiian 20 · First Class · Airbus A330
Extra reclining seat
Often delayed by 30+ min


Good luck, wish the baby and wife great trip.