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Quote:

Originally Posted by N104UA (Post 31147252)

What terminal is WN in at KOA, it has been a long time since I was at KOA but if memory serves me correctly there are two terminals, I believe the gates had a common waiting room so they could not separate inter-island from mainland flights.

Haven't been to KOA in a few years but for my Alaska flight, they set up an ag inspection stand and funneled everyone through it. When international flights left, it looked like they could wheel the X-Ray machine out of the way. It was like the setup for the WN gate at Maui; a rope forces everyone to go to the X-Ray machine.

Things could have changed or WN is set up differently (was it a through flight to the mainland?), but it seems odd they'd send interisland flights through ag.

I flew UA from LAX-HNL last year in their new slimline coach seats. They were truly terrible on such a long flight. Even an empty middle seat on the way back didn’t help much. I was pining for a WN coach seat the whole time.

BTW, the wifi didn’t work on the UA flight either. Make sure to stock up on podcasts and Netflix downloads before you head to the airport.

Quote:

Originally Posted by tusphotog (Post 31147550)

Things could have changed or WN is set up differently (was it a through flight to the mainland?), but it seems odd they'd send interisland flights through ag.

It doesn't appear any KOA-HNL flights are through to the mainland.

I do wonder how WN is doing on the inter-island flights, as they have walk up $29 fares for tomorrow where HA is $89, will be interesting to see if locals continue to use the hometown airline.

However I do know if you need some segments to qualify for status and are in Hawaii, a day or two of runs will get you a lot

Quote:

Originally Posted by N104UA (Post 31147252)

WN uses Terminal 1 at KOA. It appeared the only gate that they use is 4 which appeared to formerly be an Island Air gate as they still had one of their signs up in the gate area! For agricultural purposes, the way our flight worked is they held us in the Gate 4A waiting area (outside the agriculture inspection area) until ~50 mins prior to departure when the USDA officer explained to us why we needed to be screened and then opened up the waiting area for gates 4B, 3 and 2. When the inbound flight arrived from HNL, the passengers exited through gate 4A (they are directly next to each other, just separated by a fence) and never entered the “sterile” area

Quote:

Originally Posted by N104UA (Post 31147687)

The FA on my flight told me she had already done a couple of inter-island flights and that most of them have been close to full. Our flight was probably 2/3 full, but seemed to be mostly locals. I asked her if a mainland-KOA nonstop is likely in the future and she said that it will probably eventually happen. There were 22 pax connecting onto SJC which they ended up holding as we were 30 mins late, so I think that a direct from the mainland to KOA will probably be added in the next round of expansion.

Quote:

Originally Posted by tusphotog (Post 31146861)

Strange you have to go through ag inspection when flying interisland.

It is because WN uses the overseas terminal at HNL for all of their flights, which USDA screening is incorporated with TSA screening at this terminal.

On OAK-HNL now, TV works for 5 seconds and quits. Internet is fine

Three of us flew SJC - OGG Thursday, returning Tuesday 6/4. Very pleasant experience, typical SWA. I chatted with the gate agent; he commented that of the 160 or so on the flight less than 50 we starting in SJC, all others were connecting from other locations which helps explain the late morning departure time. I checked the flight the day before and it showed totally sold out; there were several empty seats. One of the flight attendants said it was due to weight restrictions; they can't accommodate a full flight. Snack was a bit larger, on board entertainment was OK (not great), we arrived 15 minutes early (and had to wait on our gate). Overall, a very normal flight.

Just had another solid experience HNL-SJC. Great flight, great friendly crew. On-time, no issues.

WN seems to be doing a great job with Hawaii ops.

HNL-OAK yesterday was great, but wondered, the 12:45p was the last flight to OAK or SJC yet the GA called out the names of 3 standbys and asked if there were any more standbys? Flight price was $214 yesterday morning but plane looked full.

Does the WiFi work over the Pacific Ocean?

Quote:

Originally Posted by dlaue (Post 31185544)

Does the WiFi work over the Pacific Ocean?

Yes. I was surprised.

Quote:

Originally Posted by nsx (Post 31185565)

Yes. I was surprised.

And it is surprisingly fast! Also N.B. Alaska does not offer overwater wifi.

For those who have flown, were your flights from the mainland to Hawaii full/sold out?

Quote:

Originally Posted by bupac (Post 31199851)

For those who have flown, were your flights from the mainland to Hawaii full/sold out?

98-100% full in my experience.

Quote:

Originally Posted by spongenotbob (Post 31201333)

98-100% full in my experience.

same here, both ways the FA announced “this flight will be full”, and C boarders had to go from back to front of plane to find middle seats

surprisingly the HNL-OAK return flight was still available for $218 an hour before departure. Then 3 standbys were cleared to fill plane