Originally Posted by Carfield

Yes you can use the upgrade certificates, and I even manage to upgrade to first/business on the inaugural Seattle to Tokyo Narita flight.

Basically the service was good because Hawaiian F/As are in general very friendly. In business class, you get the same amenity kit (bag plus products for you to pick and put inside the bag) and slippers as their usual service. You get bottled waters but once you finish, they just refill your aluminum bottles.

I also think they even get an amenity kit in economy now. However the cabin product in general is very lacking.

They have stepped up the economy service a bit and you got two hot meals and some ice cream mid-flight. For other snacks, you have to buy.

For business, the service is a slight upgrade from their current Hawaii to Japan flights. You have an option of a cheese plate now - what a joke - not even cheese and dessert. They offered instant bowl noodles served in a real bowl now, as one of the mid-flight snack. The pre-arrival meal was the same and it was simply too small. I recommend bringing some sandwiches/food for the westbound flight, even if you fly business/first.

Alaska CEO Ben said that they will introduce a new cabin product for their international flights soon/within the next few months. The current menu cycle ends in August, so I presume they will bring out the new service in September especially the Seoul flight will be longer. I have a concern about the galley spaces on these Hawaiian A330s that are configured for leisure service, not premium service. They possibly need to do some work with their 787-9s too if they plan to do long haul.

I will post some photo link once I have time later today or tomorrow.

My simple conclusion is that the current SEA-Tokyo service will just be a slightly upgraded version for the Hawaii to Asia service. There are bit more offering in economy but business catering is just disappointing at best, despite the F/As are excellent. But they don't really have a lot of prep time so Hawaiian does its best for now. I will recommend them catering some extra sandwiches for the westbound flights now. Maybe add a bread component too on the pre-arrival meal in business.

Carfield