cali-gal

I booked a flight from LAX to HNL for two of us. We paid for Extra Comfort, but the equipment hasn't been assigned yet so we can't pick seats. The flight is HA 1, which is typically an Airbus A330. When can we expect the equipment to be assigned so we can choose seats? It seems strange to me that this flight is the only one I saw that was not assigned an aircraft. Thoughts or suggestions, anyone?

azj

Not sure what you mean by the a/c not being assigned. All 330s are in the same configuration, so it doesn't matter which specific aircraft is operating HA1 that day. When are you traveling? There may be some ad-hoc substitutions for HA1 during the Raiders/Seahawks charter season.

cali-gal

The aircraft type was not assigned. I realize all the 330s are the same configuration. When I go to "select seats" I only get an "Error getting seat availability data: 404". The date is November 3.

azj

Where and how does it indicate the aircraft is not assigned? I'm curious as to how this is presented.

Looking at the website, as if purchasing a ticket, I see the error you are describing. Not sure what it means, but the fact that they're selling Extra Comfort seats indicates to me that this will indeed be a 330. But again, there have been some ad-hoc changes during football season, this could be what's going on. Interestingly, all the inbound flights the night before are showing accurate seatmaps and the ability to book EC.

Have you contacted HAL?

cali-gal

I tried to get a seat assignment at the time of booking and got the error message I wrote above. I called Hawaiian and they said the aircraft type was not assigned, so seats couldn’t be chosen yet. I wondered if anyone else had heard of this, and if so, at what point the aircraft had been assigned.

azj

Interesting... all flights into LAX the night before from OGG/HNL, including the red-eye, which wouldn't be the aircraft for HA1 are showing A330. The 321's inbound the night before from LIH and KOA, will return in the morning. Either there is some update taking place today, or some weird glitch, I can't imagine why HA1 wouldn't be a 330. I would think things will solidify very soon.

cali-gal

Thank you! It's very helpful to know what aircraft may be positioned for our flight. I'll keep watching and choose seats as soon as I see they are available. Like you, I can't imagine the aircraft being anything but a 330 since it's a Saturday, which is usually a heavily-traveled day. I definitely hope that's the case. Does the Neo not have extra comfort?

azj

The 321neo does indeed have EC, the 767 however, does not. IF it were an ad-hoc equipment sub for charter needs, it would more than likely be a 767. The 321 fleet has virtually no slack in it as all frames are operating lines of flying.

cali-gal

Just a brief update-- still no seat assignments available. It will be interesting to see what aircraft this ends up being. I'll report back when I find out.

cali-gal

I am still getting the same error message-- so I still can't get confirmed assigned seating.

formeraa

Make sure to call again, if you haven't already. I would press the call center a bit to check on this. Politely ask for a supervisor, if necessary.

CRJ200flyer

HA 1 on Nov 3 has been assigned to a 767 vs. the usual 332 for operational reasons (along with HA 2 on 11/2). Someone must have blocked seat assignments in case the switch needed to be made. I'm not sure if extra comfort purchases will get auto-refunded, but if not definitely follow up and someone should be able to refund you. Good news is that the 767 legroom is actually quite decent even in the main cabin (IIRC, the rear cabin actually has slightly more seat pitch), but otherwise it's a bit of a retro experience - be sure to bring your own entertainment as the 767s are overhead TV + audio only.

cali-gal

I guess they changed the aircraft again, because yesterday the seats were finally available for assignment, and it shows the A330. I was offered the option to bid up to first class Oct 24, which I did, bidding either the lowest or close to it since I wasn't sure which aircraft it was. I didn't want to pay a premium price in case it didn't have the lie-flats. I did a bone-head move and purchased extra comfort seats, and I should have waited since there were plenty available. In fact there still are. My bid up got accepted, so I paid more than I had to. Only $80, but still. I've been trying to get a ton of things done before I go and just rushed through choosing my seats once I noted the seat map was up. My favorite row 11 seats were already gone, and the other EC seats are pretty much the same to me.