8 Hours in Honolulu
 

Now that Mrs. Glasman is fully vaccinated, she is ready to travel again and indicated that she would like to start by accompanying me on my next Hawaiian trip – which means its time to step it up in the amenities, perks and accommodations department.

I have been reading that Hawaii is open (ing) again – well “more” open than my January trip, so I decided I would go check for myself. So, with United’s March dirt cheap Hawaiian Island fares, I booked a same day round trip for $169 and now I’m off on a 24-hour hall pass flying their 777 with Polaris lay flat seating. What a great time to check how the soft product is coming along and to visit a few resorts to see which location has the better amenities as of today. Lunch and Dinner were on the fly as my favorite Alan Wong restaurant has closed - permanently!

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But first, I had to obtain a negative 72-hour pre-departure COVID test and upload the results on the travel.hawaii.gov site.

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First to Walgreens

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Then Rite Aid.

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With my State of Hawaii QR code in hand, at 5AM, I headed down Interstate 5 for the 1:40 minute drive to LAX.

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As the Los Angles commute was in full swing, my only “real” traffic was through the world’s busiest intersection: the 101 &405 freeways.

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1:44 minutes later I safely arrived at LAX.

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As this is a quick turn around MR, I opted to shell-out for the convenience of P7 so I would have a quick getaway upon my return.

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Construction of the $4B APM (Automated People Mover) is coming along and it is also blocking the view of an iconic LAX landmark.

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Light traffic on the south side of LAX.

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Since I only brought a backpack, I headed straight to the TSA pre-check line – which was empty!

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I walked right up to the agent and he slid my ID into a new contraption that I had never seen before – no boarding pass scanning here. Interested to learn more about that about that technology.

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2 minutes later, I was though security.

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And headed to United’s Hawaii pre-clearance station to have my QR code verified and blue wristband issued.

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After they put the band on, I headed to the United Club for a cup of coffee and a light snack.

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Moderate crowd in the club this morning.

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Then to a much needed pit stop after my morning commute.

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When will this stop? It's a bathroom!

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United is still holding off on bringing back self-serve food items.

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I picked up a cup of coffee and a couple of food items and headed out onto the patio for some nice plane spotting.

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Pre-packaged it was.

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I do not know if I was hungry, but the sausage, egg and cheese biscuit was pretty tasty.

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Up Next. A wonderful Polaris experience and lines that equal Disneyland.

Great TR - very exciting.

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At T-50 minutes, I headed to Gate 77 entering a fairly busy Terminal 7.

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Past the Polaris lounge entrance.

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Which is still temporarily closed.

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April 20, 2021
LAX-HNL Flight 1158 Polaris Seat 7L
950:AM – 12:22PM Scheduled
9:48AM – 12:11PM Actual

Pre-boarding started at 8:58AM with the normal children under 2, military, folks that need more time, and it went to hell from there.

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Extremely long line of Group 1 PAX.

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The gal in front of me and I said, "what the heck" - and decided to board with the pre-boarding PAX as the GA lost who was coming and going.

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Only one jet bridge was used, causing an influx of families as they seemingly got lost or blocked the bridge as they were breaking down their strollers.

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Once on board, my Polaris 7L seat.

If I'm not flying with Mrs. Glasman, I try to pick the odd number seating on the right side of the plane as the seats are straight and align with the windows. Evens do not.

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Saks Fifth Ave bedding - One of my favorite pillows.

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I arranged my devices, headsets, ect. and then went to the nose for a nature break where I was invited into the cockpit to speak with the pilots about today’s flight – and a photo op.

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Ready to push.

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After push back, I sat and viewed the construction all around LAX.

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AA and Alaska - Terminal 5-6. Perhaps a new club with a view?

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Looks like the large aircraft of American Airlines has been banished to the remote gates of the Bradley International Terminal while construction takes place at T6.

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Then Terminal 2 - 3.

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Beautiful views during the climb out.

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Right away the excellent crew started 5 hours of wonderful service. Expecting nothing more than a snack box or a blue label sandwich, I was pleasantly surprised when purser Nick asked if I would like to have breakfast - and then offered French toast or egg whites! Wow, surprised.

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Point Conception, where the Santa Barbara Channel meets the Pacific Ocean.

I spent most of my time online as the Wi-Fi was efficient and I was able to do a little work - even though I was on holiday. I also had a lengthy conversation with Nick about the current state of the hospitality industry in Hawaii and why Polaris is on the route. If you’re wondering, it's because the 777-200’s that have the same engines as flight 328, DEN – HNL have all been grounded as the NTSB investigates the engine failure that took place in February. A win for SFO and LAX PAX.

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With an hour left in the flight, Nick served a nice and cold Kona Big Wave beer. Delicious!
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Maui's West Coast.

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Southern approach to Oahu. Waikiki in the distance.

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We arrived 14 minutes early and 5 minutes later we arrived at Gate G6, disembarking by row using the front door.

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Overall, an amazingly comfortable and enjoyable 5-hour Trans-Pac flight. Not sure if it's just this route, missing Polaris or that the FA’s were very pleasant and engaged in their work – whatever the reason, it was a superb flight. Kudos.

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Can you imagine flying Southwest for 5 hours? Ouch! Well as they say, "where every seat, is a first class seat." Pass.

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We were directed down the terminal until we were met by agents checking for our wrist bands. Those who had them were sent left and those who did NOT were sent to the right.

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Great plane spotting from the open air walkway.

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....and then I see this!! What?! These are all the PAX that did NOT get pre-clearance to enter Hawaii! Are you kidding me!? Did they not do their home work?

This sight resembled a packed line in the summer heat at a popular Disneyland amusement ride - 3 rows deep, back and forth, back and forth. No social distancing here. Wonder how long that took? Well...no I don't.

Next. 8 Hours in Honolulu.

Great TR - glad flight was better compared to the January flight to HNL with that sandwich.

so weird about the line for those without pre-clearance!

Great report glasman19. Those Jimmy Dean Sausage, Egg & Cheese biscuits are very tasty.

I feel robbed! Haven't seen them in the ORD United Club!

I haven't seen them in LAX either. But they do have those burrito like wraps in ORD. Maybe I'm lucky.

This is a joke, right? Paying several thousand dollars for business class, and get that as part of the “experience”?!

Several thousand dollars? LOL. When was the last time you checked LAX-HNL prices?

soft service hasn’t been great in ages - we really are buying the nice seat. I prefer to just bring some nice airplane food on my flight so I know that I’ll have something good to eat on the plane.

For those wondering, LAX-HNL round-trip domestic first class (same seats as OP) runs about $1,200 looking four weeks from now.

Otherwise, great trip report! Will make sure to do pre-clearance on my upcoming HNL trip.

I guess he missed my opening where I said I paid $169. RT.

Does somebody know, if American Airlines offers as well the Hawaii Pre Clearance in DFW?

Unless something has changed recently, neither AA or DL participates in the Hawaii Pre-Clearance wristband program. Which is probably the reason for the long lines at HNL.

Lord have mercy on us...lol! We connecting from AA5 (77W) in HNL to Hawaiian Air to Kona and only have 2 hrs/2 seaerate F tickets and mostly luggage won't be checked through.