Hawaiian Airlines launches new Premium Cabin on Australian services and reveals Moana themed aircraft

Earlier this month, Hawai‘i’s flagship carrier Hawaiian Airlines launched sales for its brand new premium offering, which will be available on their A330-200 service between Honolulu and their East Coast Australian destinations Sydney and Brisbane, as well as Narita, Japan and Auckland, New Zealand, from December.

The long awaited cabin upgrade is the continuation of an upgrade across the A330 network, which they plan to incorporate into additional markets in the year ahead. The Premium Cabin sits in a 2-2-2 configuration, meaning not everyone has aisle access, but the seats are tailored for couples and families, with 18 seats on each A330 aircraft that fold into a fully lie-flat, 180-degree bed, sitting 20.5 inches wide and 76 inches long.

Get a taste of what to expect with the new cabin here and in the video below:

The design incorporates the “flowing curves evocative of the winds and the ocean”, while the airline collaborated with renowned Hawaiian designer Sig Zane on a new line of complimentary amenity kits, a cotton quilt and a lounging pillow, all of which feature the ‘Auli‘ilani lehua flower pattern.

“ʻAuliʻilani, the lehua blossom, is the allure of the forests,” Zane said about the design. “Poetically, a lover and a good friend, we embrace each lehua with fondness and aloha.”

The airline released a video about the partnership which you can watch here:

Every adjustable seat includes one A/C and two USB outlets, over 100 hours of movies and TV powered by a 13-inch wide-screen tablet that sits on an adjustable telescoping arm. Hawaiian’s Executive Chef Chai Chaowasaree will showcase regional food alongside a premier cocktail menu (Mai Tai anyone?) and a full beverage bar service, with wines selected by Hawaiian’s Master Sommelier Chuck Furuya, local craft beer and Hawai‘i-
made spirits.

The cabin retrofit will also see 28 additional Extra Comfort seats added, taking the total offered on each aircraft to 68. The “Premium Economy” offering of the airline features 36 inches of seat pitch, priority boarding, in-seat entertainment and a personal power outlet. This will see the amount of Main Cabin seats (which have 31 inch seat pitch) reduced from 236 to 192, and the overall number of passengers on board the aircraft dropping from 294 to 278.

Travel in the new A330 cabins will commence on flights between Honolulu and Narita, Brisbane and Auckland from December 5th, while Sydney will see the service from December 13th. If you don’t want to wait until then to experience the service, however, the cabins are already available on select flights within the North American network, after they debuted on select A330 aircraft this past Summer. The airline will gradually introduce the new cabins across all of its 23 wide-body A330 aircraft through 2017, allowing them to expand the service’s reach to more destinations around the world.

And if you’re luck enough, you might get to travel on one of the three A330s which have been themed by the new Disney film Moana. The decal design features four characters from the movie on Hawaiian’s fuselage, while the overhead luggage bins will also feature characters and artwork from the film, which comes out in Australia this Boxing Day. The airline will also offer special Moana in-flight entertainment as well as co-branded, limited-edition products such as blankets, towels and children’s and adult apparel.

ha_moana_livery1

The planes will fly on Hawaiian’s regularly scheduled U.S. domestic routes as well as to international destinations including Brisbane and Sydney, Australia; Osaka and Tokyo, Japan; and Auckland, New Zealand through March of 2017. Fans can track the course of each “Moana”-themed plane in real time at HawaiianAirlines.com/Moana.

Watch a time-lapse video of the first decal application and images of the first new livery here:

For bookings and more details about all of the above, head to the official Hawaiian Airlines website.

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Larry Heath

Founding Editor and Publisher of the AU review. Currently based in Toronto, Canada. You can follow him on Twitter @larry_heath or on Instagram @larryheath.