jspira

Given the fact that the final 747 flight is in 3 days, 4 hours, and 10 minutes (not that I'm counting), it would be nice to hear from anyone on some of the early Royal Hawaiian Service flights.

PACLipper

Yes. The Royal Hawaiian 747 flights were nice - and would you believe just about every flight to and from HNL and ITO were 747s from about 1971 forward? There were lounges in coach for a couple of years, too. First Class was something very special then. The sundae, for example, was huge, with different flavors of scoops of ice cream, different toppings and then the flight attendant would add whipped cream and then nuts and a cherry - and this was done right at your seat. The f.a. would also carve roasts from a trolley, asking which cut you preferred. Brunch was pretty nice too if I recall, with omelettes and beef and ham choices from the skillet. All of this was presented to you at your seat. It was so personalized compared to first class today. I was a minor then, so I can't comment about adult beverages, but I always saw a lot of smiling adult faces . The first class lounge upstairs was always fun to retreat to and you would find people playing cards or chatting away. As far as in-flight entertainment goes, there was a movie, except on the overnight flights to the Mainland, with the old style stethoscope looking ear buds. Filet mignon was served on overnight flights - can you believe that in this day and age? There was music to entertain you overnight. F.A. were mumus and aloha shirts. People smoked in the rear of first class but I don't recall seeing too many smokers on the Royal Hawaiian flights, but I only took 4 r.t flights a year max. I am sure others who were older than me can provide you with an adult perspective.

rabilancia

Not in the 70's, but in 1985 I began flying to "the Islands" from Denver several times a year. I had just started my "one man band" consulting practice with my first client: the Mana Kai Maui hotel. The hotel/condo had been conceived/built/managed by Jim Christman, a then retired United 747 captain that flew the 747 to HNL in the 70's. As a WWII pilot/vet, he had so many stories to tell.

I got to fly the 747 few times. Quite frankly, it was not the plane itself that I remember, but the service. The upper deck was certainly a different novelty, but after flying it the first time, I made no special effort to choose my flights to do it again.

The service (regardless of class) on any flight to/from Hawaii was another story:

• attentive service from what were then called stewardesses dressed in mumus
• endless macadamia nuts
• hot meal choices even in coach (it's where my kids were asked "feather or leather" instead of "chicken or beef")

It was simply a different time to use air travel.

FWIW, the 747 was not my favorite plan of the era. As a very frequent traveler I was often sat in the "front of the plane." IMHO, the DC-8 seats and configuration was far more comfortable and appealing.

FlyinHawaiian

PACLipper

Oh, those macadamia nuts were warmed in First!

IAH-OIL-TRASH

First flight to Honolulu was on a United DC-8 in 1960 from LAX. I was 4 and the only two things I remember were 1) stewardess giving me metal wings with a very sharp pin (thank you lawyers - sarcastically - for making sure those are memories) and 2) going down the airstairs and being met by extended family - I'll have to find the photo of me where I can barely see over pile of lei looped around neck.

At the time, the middle concourse had no walls or roof/ceiling - basically a fence-bound platform w/ stairs down to the tarmac for gates. I guess if it rained, you got wet. No Ewa or Diamond Head concourses at the time, obviously.

Several flights in economy on 747 in 70s, but I wasn't of age and riding in coach, but I do remember the unremarkable TV dinner-type food.

JetStreamDrifter

I had the opportunity to fly the DC8s, DC10s, B757s, B767 and B747s on UAL's Hawaiian route. The Aloha Service was pretty much the same IIFC on all of the aircraft. UA would have a mid-point contest... i.e., trivia questions were the PAXs would have to know the answer to a specific question about Hawaii.., you had to be quick with your answer because many on board were very knowledgably about the islands, and its history. The 74-200s had 2-4-2 seating in rows 15 to 35, and 3-4-3 from row 37 on to the last two rows which had 2-4-2 seating. The earlier 74-100s had primarily 9 across seating. There were several 2-2 seats in rows 15, 33-37 - but only on the right side of the aircraft and 4 of the last rows. The spiral staircase and the upper deck were simply... SPECIAL. The 74's were always my favorites (you could actually walk pass the food/beverage carts to the restrooms). First Class on either aircraft was memorable, Mia Tias, Hot Fudge Sundae's..,however more so in all aspects on the 74s. Truly will miss the majestic B747s… with the UNITED livery. I just cannot imagine arriving at an airport, or my international destination… and not seeing a UA B747 ever again!

milepig

We on the last flight on one of the DC-8s. Wasn’t there some reason having to do with range certification that they were on the Hawaii run as long as they were?

EWR764

Old, paid for, high capacity, lower-utilization and no need for ETOPS are some reasons why.

fumje

Would prefer metal wings, but I saw some plastic wings with a rather sharp pin at the gate in LAS last year. No particular occasion, but I needed no second (or first!) invitation to ask for one.

cerealmarketer

Here's a great video inflight on UA1 ORD-HNL in 1978 on a 747 with full views of the Royal Hawaiian service...it starts at 7 minutes 40 seconds in (click the text link which bookmarks to that location)

• Rose on the tray table, and cocktails from the drink cart (they include a shaker)
• A wooden or plastic tray of small pupu apps
• White or wheat roll
• Basic green salad tossed from the cart with Asian dressing
• Champagne and two wines
• An unknown main course (probably the carved roast)
• Ice cream cart with large bottles of the usual cordials (with the dry ice 'smoke')

It was nice - all served individually - but not luxurious ingredients like intl first class service in the 80s and 90s.

About 38" of pitch in first class on a 9 hour flight! But there was a wide open lounge upstairs.

In economy it was...

• The tray of pupu apps (looks similar to the one in first class)
• Chicken teriyaki (which the host thought was inedible)

And an achingly small sized projection of the movie on the bulkhead, while the flight attendants have to pass out on the crew rest seats.

It's a great frank, realistic documentary that even then talks of how air travel was cheapened and these jumbo jets made it a cattle car.

If you have an hour or so, the series of videos shows you exactly the state of affairs of flying United back in 1978 - from the good to the bad.

FlyinHawaiian

I just had a flashback to a veal parmigiana entree served in an aluminum tray. Pretty sure that's what I had in Y on my first SFO-HNL flight.

I also remember they had a music channel that was all Hawaiian music, but I think that might have been more in the 80s.

MojaveFlyer

I admit that on a recent SFO-OGG flight in F I was quite disappointed that there were no macadamia nuts

OTOH the flights that have lie flat seats sure allow a better snooze.

ESPECIALROB

My first UA 747 Flight to Honolulu was in 1978. I took UA's Flight #1 that always left ORD at 10:30 am to HNL, which arrived about 2 pm HST. The return flight to ORD left HNL about 5:30 pm (not sure of the exact time). The return flight to ORD was UA #2 . It landed at ORD at about 5:30 am.

I took several UA Hawaii Flights from 1980 onward, and finally experienced UA First Class in 1986. During that period of time, I flew on the ORD-HNL-ORD non-stops, and on a few connections. By that time, more of UA's fleet to Honolulu and other Islands were DC-10s, with a few 747s flying to HNL.

The coach meals were impressive during that time, with Monkey Pod Wood Plates, an Orchid on the tray table, and of course the Mai Tais! All these interesting and memorable touches became extinct in the early 1990s on the 747s and other aircraft serving the Hawaiian Islands. The Moo Moos and Men's Aloha Shirts also disappeared about that same time, with the flight attendants transitioned to UA's regular uniforms.

I'll always remember flying to HNL a few times on their 747s! Great Memories.

JVPhoto

My first trip to Hawaii was HNL c. 1990/1 with my grandparents. I don't know if it was United but I specifically remember stairs on the plane. We would have either flown out of SJC or SFO. I was only 8 at the time so it was all lost on me other than the stairs and looking out at the other gates at the 3 engine planes.