At long last, lie-flats land at Hawaiian Airlines
By Jerome Greer Chandler Tue May 24, 2016
Hawaiian Airlines’ new Premium Cabin promises to catapult the carrier into competition with other transpac players.
Hawaiian welcomed home its first A330-200 fitted with fully lie-flat seats, the anchor element of an all-out remake of the airline’s premium product. With routes stretching from China to New York, being able to stretch out and sleep soundly is a pre-requisite for some passengers before booking passage. Business travelers are especially keen on this. The truth is, Hawaiian has lagged behind in the lie-flat arena.
As the A330-200 fleet gets refitted, there will be 18 lie-flats up front, in the pointy end of the airplane. They fold down into 180-degee affairs that are 20.5 inches wide and a full 76 inches long. They’re arrayed in a 2x2x2 configuration. That means that passengers in the window seats don’t have direct aisle access.
Hawaiian calls the seat controls “intuitive.” Seats come equipped with multiple power ports, an A/C outlet and a pair of USB connections. The inflight entertainment (IFE) is served up on large-format tablets, which rest on adjustable, telescoping arms.
For those who appreciate the aesthetics of aircraft interiors Hawaiian, in conjunction with the PaulWylde consultancy of California has, according to the airline, “incorporate[d] flowing curves evocative of the winds and ocean, while marrying organic textures and pops of bright saturated color in its Premium Cabin.”
At the same time Hawaiian’s A330-200 premium product receives a major makeover, it’s adding 28 more Extra Comfort seats, making for total of 68 of the 36-inch seat-pitch seats. The re-work of the cabin layout means the airline’s newly revamped A330-200s will sport 278 seats in all—16 fewer than the previous configuration.
Hawaiian expects to have twenty-three A330-200s by this summer. The airline plans to start selling new Premium Cabin passage this fall. That’s when the first dedicated routes will be announced—as will “new signature service elements” and amenities.
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