Hawaiian Airlines Review: An LP Family’s Experience Flying to Hawaii
Hawaiian Airlines Review: An LP Family’s Experience
A dwarf family’s honest review of flying Hawaiian Airlines to Hawaii — LP-specific tips, seat comfort, and the 2024 Alaska merger update.
Hawaiian Airlines still has the same great service as it had 25 years ago when Dwarf Mom last went to Oahu with family. From check-in to in-flight service, it’s very family friendly. The check-in process from our mainland airport was welcoming — I didn’t feel that they were rushing to help the next passengers. With a family of 4, we’re often balancing holding our carry-on backpacks and herding children, so I appreciate their patience.
The In-Flight Experience
Free Meals — Still a Thing
One of the best things about Hawaiian is that they remain one of the only major US carriers to provide full-service meals free of charge to all passengers. For LP families who can’t carry much in a carry-on, having a hot meal provided removes one logistical headache on a 6-hour flight.
Our departing flight to Hawaii provided a mid-morning snack of fresh fruit (watermelon, honeydew, and cantaloupe), crackers, cheese, and a snack-size chocolate-covered macadamia nut. The return flight to the mainland included a dinner of teriyaki chicken, rice, steamed vegetables, a salad, and a shortbread cookie with a pineapple center. Complementary wine, coffee, and tea were offered too. A small touch — but Hawaiian serves rice with meals. For families like ours that appreciate it, that’s a welcoming gesture that other airlines simply don’t bother with.
Entertainment and Seating
Their A330 jet provides interactive screens built into the seat back — your main hub for entertainment (movies, games, music), calling the flight attendant, overhead light control, charging via USB port, and tracking flight status. Headphone ports are located in the armrest. If you forget earphones, they’re available via the in-flight Duty Free cart. For those with hearing impairment, in-flight movies are also closed captioned.
We sat comfortably in the middle with 4 seats side by side, mom and dad on each end. The middle seats on the A330 work well for LP families — both parents can have an aisle-adjacent seat while the children are secured between you.
LP-Specific Tips for Flying Hawaiian
Tray tables on the A330 pull forward enough for an LP to sit upright without hunching over to reach them. This is a genuine differentiator — many domestic carriers have tray tables that sit too far back and too high, forcing shorter passengers into an uncomfortable forward lean for the entire meal. Hawaiian’s configuration worked well for us.
For LP adults, bulkhead seats offer extra legroom but remove the under-seat storage that makes it easy to keep a personal bag accessible without using the overhead bin. We preferred standard seats with under-seat storage so everything was within reach without needing to stand up mid-flight.
On a 6-hour flight you will need access to your carry-on. If you cannot reach the overhead bin independently, ask a flight attendant during boarding — before the cabin fills — to stow your bag somewhere accessible. Gate-checking a carry-on on a long international-style flight is a last resort since you won’t have access to it for 6 hours.
Aircraft lavatories are tight for anyone. For LP adults, the sink height and mirror position are typically too high. Bring wet wipes in your personal item for supplemental hand cleaning — particularly useful for the kids after meals when you don’t want to navigate the lavatory queue mid-service.
Our Recommended Travel Step Stool
A lightweight folding step stool is one of the most useful travel items an LP family can pack. Useful in hotel rooms, airport lounges, and anywhere counters and sinks are built for average height. Folds flat and fits in a carry-on.
Overall Verdict
Hawaiian Airlines remains one of the most LP-friendly carriers for the mainland-to-Hawaii route. The combination of complimentary meals, accessible tray tables, attentive service, and a family-friendly cabin culture makes it a genuinely good choice for LP families traveling with children. The Alaska Airlines merger introduces some uncertainty about long-term service changes, but as of our knowledge the in-flight product on Hawaiian-operated flights has remained consistent.
Have you flown Hawaiian Airlines as an LP family recently? We’d love to hear whether the in-flight experience has changed since the Alaska Airlines merger — drop your update in the comments below.