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Experiences with Economy Plus/Comfort Plus/Premium Economy from East Coast to HNL


pdcsgirl
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Curious to hear from anyone who flew in this on America, Delta or United and what you thought. I'm looking at our flight options. Front runners look like nonstop from Newark on United, through Atlanta on Delta, or through Dallas/Fort Worth on American. Want some extra room but can't swing business or First Class for a family of four. I know that it depends on which aircraft they use (which can always change and most likely will because I'll be booking about 11 or 10 months out for July 2019), but curious in general. Kids will be 12 and 9 and have flown before, including a connection to Vancouver, but HNL is obviously much further. Thanks!

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First, due to the length of the flights, they can't just always change the type of planes used. Each airline will have a limited number, probably as few as 2, that can make these long flights.

 

Second, the focus here is typically a little more room. For more specifics, perhaps some research on the Cruise Air board, here:

 

https://boards.cruisecritic.com/forumdisplay.php?f=128

 

which is all about planes, flights etc. Lots of experienced flyers there.

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You also have Hawaiian Airlines once a day service nonstop from JFK-HNL. Usually very competitive pricing and they have a nice premium economy cabin. We always find it fun taking Hawaiian over there because it has a Island vibe the moment you step aboard in NY.

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First, due to the length of the flights, they can't just always change the type of planes used. Each airline will have a limited number, probably as few as 2, that can make these long flights.

 

Second, the focus here is typically a little more room. For more specifics, perhaps some research on the Cruise Air board, here:

 

https://boards.cruisecritic.com/forumdisplay.php?f=128

 

which is all about planes, flights etc. Lots of experienced flyers there.

 

thanks...I looked for an air board but must have missed it.

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You also have Hawaiian Airlines once a day service nonstop from JFK-HNL. Usually very competitive pricing and they have a nice premium economy cabin. We always find it fun taking Hawaiian over there because it has a Island vibe the moment you step aboard in NY.

 

JFK is a bit further for us because we are coming from southern nj. And what do I then do with miles on Hawaii Airline, given then don't fly out of PHL, which is our usual airport. It's definitely a possibility, but not ideal for us.

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JFK is a bit further for us because we are coming from southern nj. And what do I then do with miles on Hawaii Airline, given then don't fly out of PHL, which is our usual airport. It's definitely a possibility, but not ideal for us.

 

 

 

We actually live in Philly and still take it every year. We usually will go up and get a room in Manhattan the night before and the flight is at 10am. What’s really great about it is that Hawaiian is code share with American so we can earn American points for the flight (as well as exchange Amex points for upgrades). With American being the only game at PHL it’s a great way to earn a lot of points.

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We actually live in Philly and still take it every year. We usually will go up and get a room in Manhattan the night before and the flight is at 10am. What’s really great about it is that Hawaiian is code share with American so we can earn American points for the flight (as well as exchange Amex points for upgrades). With American being the only game at PHL it’s a great way to earn a lot of points.

 

Wow...I thought that I checked that and that Hawaiian Airlines no longer let you do that (HA to AA miles). You're right then--that may be the way to go for us. Rather than spend the night in Newark we just spent it near the JFK airport. I have heard good things about that flight, and it is more likely that we'll use AA miles than United or Delta.

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Wow...I thought that I checked that and that Hawaiian Airlines no longer let you do that (HA to AA miles). You're right then--that may be the way to go for us. Rather than spend the night in Newark we just spent it near the JFK airport. I have heard good things about that flight, and it is more likely that we'll use AA miles than United or Delta.

 

 

 

And Hawaiians prices are generally way better than the United flight. Have done both and the Hawaiian is just a much better in flight experience.

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And Hawaiians prices are generally way better than the United flight. Have done both and the Hawaiian is just a much better in flight experience.

 

 

 

One thing that has changed though- in order for you to get American miles you need to be ticketed on the Hawaiian flight through American.

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One thing that has changed though- in order for you to get American miles you need to be ticketed on the Hawaiian flight through American.

 

 

Yes, I see that. Is it true that there are no footrests though? We are short..that is an issue for us!

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There aren’t but I don’t remember them on United either for that flight. The Hawaiian A330 is much better laid out- if you book early enough you can get row 11, seats AB or HJ which are basically their own private little compartments in premium economy.

 

The other nice thing is that you can use Amex points (usually only 25,000) to upgrade to fully flat seats in Hawaiians first class.

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There aren’t but I don’t remember them on United either for that flight. The Hawaiian A330 is much better laid out- if you book early enough you can get row 11, seats AB or HJ which are basically their own private little compartments in premium economy.

 

The other nice thing is that you can use Amex points (usually only 25,000) to upgrade to fully flat seats in Hawaiians first class.

 

Good to know.. thanks!

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Hawaiian is my preferred carrier between LAX & Maui which we fly several times per year. Good prices, service & widebody A330 aircraft & they even provide free meal service & a rum punch.

 

Their Hawaiian Miles is the best FF program we’ve experienced but that doesn’t help much for those who infrequently fly Hawaiian. They do offer 50,000 miles during the flight by getting their chargecard which is enough for a roundtrip flight to Hawaii.

 

Each time we have the option to pay an extra $80 one-way for their Extra Comfort seats. When comparing the benefits to some other airlines Premium Economy it’s not worth it for our 5 hour flights. A couple of extra inches of legroom (no footrest), priority boarding & an entertainment pack isn’t worth the cost for us.

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Just to be clear Premium Econ (On American which they have just recently started) is a separate class. Above regular econ but below Biz/First. The other two are just economy with extra legroom. (MCE Main cabin extra is what AA calls their extra legroom seats).

 

In economy they are all about the same. If going out of EWR then I would just take the direct UA flight from EWR to HNL and be done with it. It will probably be on a 777 or maybe a 767 (and if you get lucky maybe one of their shinny new 787's) . Unless the price is drastically different I would not go through ATL, DTW, DFW or LAX unless I had to.

 

p.s. you might want to check whit he "cruise air" section of this board. There are some very experienced fliers there who can give you a much more detailed reply.

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Just to be clear Premium Econ (On American which they have just recently started) is a separate class. Above regular econ but below Biz/First. The other two are just economy with extra legroom. (MCE Main cabin extra is what AA calls their extra legroom seats).

 

In economy they are all about the same. If going out of EWR then I would just take the direct UA flight from EWR to HNL and be done with it. It will probably be on a 777 or maybe a 767 (and if you get lucky maybe one of their shinny new 787's) . Unless the price is drastically different I would not go through ATL, DTW, DFW or LAX unless I had to.

 

p.s. you might want to check whit he "cruise air" section of this board. There are some very experienced fliers there who can give you a much more detailed reply.

 

Thanks. I do understand that, but believe that, at least as of now, they are similar price points and that there really isn't a separate class between economy and business on the other lines. And yes, if we went up to EWR or JFK we would fly direct. We'd only stop if we elected to fly out of PHL using AA or Delta.

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Flying to Hawaii from the east coast with our kids we liked to take a late flight out to the west coast, stay overnight, and take an early flight to Hawaii the next morning. Yes you have the cost of a hotel for one night, but you have an added day of vacation in Hawaii. Toes in the sand by noon. That was just our preference because we hated to waste an entire day of vacation on an airplane. Have fun planning!!! Cherie

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SeatGuru is a website where you can enter your airline and flight number and it shows you a seat map that rates the pros/cons of each seat. It also gives you the dimensions of each class of seat - I think it's width, legroom, and 'pitch'. Quite useful information when trying to decide on a seat, though it won't help you if the airline changes planes at the last minute. Here's the link:

 

https://www.seatguru.com/

 

TripAdvisor also has an air travel forum with many folks who know the airlines/routes pretty well:

 

https://www.tripadvisor.com/ShowForum-g1-i10702-Air_Travel.html

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SeatGuru is a website where you can enter your airline and flight number and it shows you a seat map that rates the pros/cons of each seat. It also gives you the dimensions of each class of seat - I think it's width, legroom, and 'pitch'. Quite useful information when trying to decide on a seat, though it won't help you if the airline changes planes at the last minute. Here's the link:

 

 

 

https://www.seatguru.com/

 

 

 

Thanks sponsored link!

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  • 2 weeks later...
Yes, I see that. Is it true that there are no footrests though? We are short..that is an issue for us!

 

I am also short and really miss having a footrest on many aircraft. I tried a couple of inflatable ones and didn't care for them. A couple years ago I found a solution on Amazon, it's a foot rest that hangs on the frame of your tray table....kind of like a little hammock for your feet. Check it out, I really use mine a lot.

 

https://www.amazon.com/dp/B01M35M87O/ref=sspa_dk_detail_0?psc=1&pd_rd_i=B01M35M87O&pd_rd_wg=INwCT&pd_rd_r=CGHDKGMAVEAV4ZPWZ34Z&pd_rd_w=i2y61

Z

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I am also short and really miss having a footrest on many aircraft. I tried a couple of inflatable ones and didn't care for them. A couple years ago I found a solution on Amazon, it's a foot rest that hangs on the frame of your tray table....kind of like a little hammock for your feet. Check it out, I really use mine a lot.

 

https://www.amazon.com/dp/B01M35M87O/ref=sspa_dk_detail_0?psc=1&pd_rd_i=B01M35M87O&pd_rd_wg=INwCT&pd_rd_r=CGHDKGMAVEAV4ZPWZ34Z&pd_rd_w=i2y61

Z

 

 

Thanks!

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We just got home from Hawaii and flew on American with Premium Economy seats, these are much better than delta comfort plus and other economy seats with extra leg room. Unfortunately, yes airlines can change aircraft on long haul flights, on our return flight AA changed to a different configuration and there were no premium economy seats, so we got stuck in an economy seat. We were not at all pleased about this. But the seats were fine, about the same as a first class seat on a domestic flight. They are much more comfortable for a long haul flight than econmony or economy with extra leg room. American Premium Economy seats do have foot rests that fold down form the seat in front of you, the bulk head seat may not have them. If you look at the pictures on the AA website it shows a foot rest like a recliner, they are not like that at all.

 

We flew from Florida thru DFW and landed in HNL about 2:30... at the hotel before 4:00.

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We just got home from Hawaii and flew on American with Premium Economy seats, these are much better than delta comfort plus and other economy seats with extra leg room. Unfortunately, yes airlines can change aircraft on long haul flights, on our return flight AA changed to a different configuration and there were no premium economy seats, so we got stuck in an economy seat. We were not at all pleased about this. But the seats were fine, about the same as a first class seat on a domestic flight. They are much more comfortable for a long haul flight than econmony or economy with extra leg room. American Premium Economy seats do have foot rests that fold down form the seat in front of you, the bulk head seat may not have them. If you look at the pictures on the AA website it shows a foot rest like a recliner, they are not like that at all.

 

We flew from Florida thru DFW and landed in HNL about 2:30... at the hotel before 4:00.

 

Very helpful because we would fly through DFW as well. When they changed the aircraft did they give you a credit for having paid for PE and lending up in regular E? I would not have been happy about that but the lack of credit would have been even worse!

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Very helpful because we would fly through DFW as well. When they changed the aircraft did they give you a credit for having paid for PE and lending up in regular E? I would not have been happy about that but the lack of credit would have been even worse!

 

Yes, we did get a credit of $250 per ticket, we had purchased the economy plus seats on our flight to Dallas too, and one of those flights had an aircraft change so we lost those seats, we got a credit for that too. But along with losing the premium economy seats some in our group had to pay to get preferred seats so they at least had an aisle seat and others had to pay for their luggage which was free with the premium seats... I could go on but won't the whole process with AA was a fiasco getting new seat assignments.

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Unless things have changed I was warned by experienced travelers not to stay right at JFK airport. Supposedly they use most of the airport hotels for women and children in need of shelter from bad home situations and although I applaud this there is definitely a "run down motel" feel to them. Again this was when I was trying to decide between LGA and JFK airport hotels and was mentioned by numerous people. Just check it out to be sure.

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