Which airline has the best First Class lie-flat or flatbed seats to Honolulu and the rest of Hawaii, Air Canada, Alaska Airlines, All Nippon Airways, American Airlines, Delta Air Lines, Hawaiian Airlines, Japan Airlines, Qantas, or United Airlines?
The best airline to travel to Hawaii in First Class from the East Coast is Air Canada. They offer a magnificent International Business Class suite from Toronto on a seasonal service to Hawaii.
From the West Coast to Hawaii, you almost always get the best seats flying Hawaiian Airlines as they offer their lie-flat seats on most routes, including those from Los Angeles, LAX, San Fransisco, and Seattle. Hawaiian has retrofitted its A330s with first-class seats incorporating fully lie-flat seating and direct aisle access.
The best choice from New York is Hawaiian, followed by United and for Washington, try United in its BusinessFirst with fully lie-flat seats (as long as it’s on their 767-400ER).
American also flies excellent lie-flat seats out of DFW (Dallas) to either HNL or OGG (Maui), so American is a top choice out of Dallas and American also has some lie-flat flights out of Phoenix and LAX if you pick the right flights. Hawaiian remains a better bet as the brilliant First seats are less plane dependent.
Delta consistently flies lie-flat seats from certain airports outlined below. Unfortunately, the lie-flat picture is mixed and ever-changing as new planes are introduced on each route, so check the aircraft type carefully before booking.
If you are flying to Hawaii from outside North America, pick ANA. They have real international First Class on their planes from Japan and also the best airport lounge at Honolulu airport.
If you want to know where to stay, we think the Four Seasons hotels in Hawaii are the best.
1. Hawaiian Airlines
Hawaiian Airlines offers lie-flat Business Class on its international routes and lie-flat First Class on many domestic flights from North America to Hawaii. Their “Premium Cabin” offers 180º lie-flat seats and is the exact same cabin they use on long-distance international flights. The domestic lie-flat is the same as international Business Class but is called First Class for domestic flights, much like premium seats on American Airlines.
If you have a choice of flying domestic First Class to Hawaii, Hawaiian Airlines really is your best choice. Plus, you get that Hawaiian feeling the moment you step on board!
Just to be pedantic, All Nippon Airways also offers an excellent lie-flat seat, which is comparative to the Hawaiian Airlines offering, and their airport lounge and their genuine International First Class, which flies out of Honolulu and to Japan, is excellent. I have, however, placed ANA in position 2 as they only have a few flights a day in and out of Hawaii, and all these flights are from Japan. As most of our readers live in the United States or Canada, Hawaiian Airlines is your best choice.
We actually flew and reviewed in detail our experience of Hawaiian Airlines Airbus A330 from Honolulu (in Hawaii) to San Francisco (in California) in First Class on Hawaiian’s A330 aircraft. This plane featured their fantastic new premium lie-flat seat and their improved cabin. You can see more photos of the hard product, food, etc., in this review.
Pre-flight leaving Hawaii, Hawaiian Airlines manages two lounges at Honolulu International Airport. The Plumeria Lounge, located on the airport’s 3rd floor of Terminal 1 (the Inter-Island Terminal), is Hawaiian’s most upscale lounge and only accessible to passengers flying Business Class to one of Hawaiian’s international destinations.
If you are flying to Mainland USA in First, you will get access to Hawaiian’s Premier Club lounge, which is the inferior of the two airport lounges and is located near gate 56 in Honolulu’s Inter-Island Terminal. The Premier Club is a glorified name for what is basically an uninviting albeit contemporary decorated room without windows and with several seating areas. It has free Wi-Fi and free drinks at the small buffet station, which offers soft drinks, coffee, and tea (but there’s no alcohol or spirits). This lounge is not actualy worth visiting except for using the Wi-Fi and picking up a drink.
Hawaiian Airlines’ core fleet is mainly its 24 Airbus A330-200s. Business Class (or domestic First) seats on Hawaiian Airlines are in a 2-2-2 configuration with lie-flat seats. The lie-flat bed is 76 inches (193 centimeters) long, and the seat width is 20.5 inches (52 centimeters).
The color scheme of brown and tan with blue accents is designed to represent Hawaii’s abundance of earth, ocean, and sky. Each seat in the premium cabin is leather and is located in its own shell, with curves depicting Hawaii’s ocean waves.
The seats are slightly angled towards either the window or aisle. The seats are not very private but are perfect for companions to experience the flight together. However, a divider screen between two adjoining seats can be raised if you’re traveling on your own and seated next to a stranger.
In front of the seat is a small ottoman with a side panel that prevents your feet from dropping off the footrest while you move around. Both the seat and ottoman are covered in fine dark-brown leather from Poltrona Frau, a renowned furniture-making company based in Tolentino, Italy, that also has Ferrari, Alfa Romeo, and Maserati among its clients. The shared armrest between two seats hides the tray table and an adjustable, telescoping in-seat arm, which is used to fix the large-screen tablet (distributed by the crew shortly after takeoff), as there is no in-seat in-flight entertainment system.
Hawaiian Airlines’ in-flight entertainment comprises a decent selection of Hollywood releases, TV shows, games, and more. It’s offered free of charge to First and Business Class passengers, while passengers in coach have to pay for it.
There are two USB ports, full AC power, and a reclining wheel in the armrest. You can prebook your seat online (free) to avoid disappointment at the airport since Hawaiian flights are usually packed.
An amenity kit is not provided on domestic flights, only on international flights. First (Business) Class passengers only receive a blanket and pillow, both of mediocre quality. The crew distributed noise-canceling headphones after takeoff (and collected them before landing).
During the afternoon, flight lunch is served shortly after takeoff. Service starts with the distribution of a hot towel, menus, and an aperitif with a dish of salted macadamia nuts. When I flew Hawaiian, I chose the following items from the menu, which Chef Sheldon Simeon of Tin Roof Maui restaurant created:
- Starter
- Kim Chee shrimp poke with salted cucumber and pickled Maui onions
- Entree
- Shoyu roast chicken with sweet corn relish and creamy mushroom rice
- Dessert
- Passion chocolate cake
The starter and entree were brought to my seat while the crew rolled a cart down the aisle for the dessert and coffee. All the dishes were surprisingly delicious!
Hawaiian Airlines offers lie-flat seats on the following domestic routes on its Airbus A330 with the 2-2-2 seat configuration.
Hawaiian’s brilliant Premium Cabin is on their A330 plane with a 2-2-2 layout and should be bookable on the following routes:
- Los Angeles, California (LAX) and Oahu – Honolulu, HI (HNL)
- San Diego, California (SAN) and Oahu – Honolulu, HI (HNL)
- Los Angeles, California (LAX) and Maui – Kahului, HI (OGG)
- San Francisco, California (SFO) and Oahu – Honolulu, HI (HNL)
- Las Vegas, Nevada (LAS) and Oahu – Honolulu, HI (HNL)
- San Francisco, California (SFO) and Maui – Kahului, HI (OGG)
- Seattle, Washington (SEA) and Oahu – Honolulu, HI (HNL)
- New York (JFK) and Oahu – Honolulu, HI (HNL)
- Seattle, Washington (SEA) and Maui – Kahului, HI (OGG)
- Seattle, Washington (SEA) and Maui – Kahului, HI (OGG)
- Boston Logan (BOS) and Oahu – Honolulu, HI (HNL)
An interesting option for booking flights to Hawaii is to use Virgin Atlantic Flying Club miles. You currently need 80,000 Virgin miles to fly from the West Coast to Hawaii and back on lie flat First Class seats. From the East Coast, the price is 130,000 miles per return ticket to Hawaii on those lovely Lie Flat seats.
2. All Nippon Airways
The best and newest airport lounge in Honolulu airport is the ANA lounge. It’s modern, stylish, and has a great food selection. You can access this superb lounge if you are a Star Alliance Gold member (with one additional guest) or those flying First, Business, and Premium Economy on ANA get access. It’s located on the third floor of Terminal 2 above Gate C4.
The bathrooms are also modern, stylish, and new but lack showers. Food-wise, the buffet is the best at Honolulu airport with hot curries, soups, and more, including vegetarian. The Hawaiian barbeque chicken gets a big thumbs up and is restaurant quality. There’s cut fruit, salads, and rolls too. Drinks are great, too, with beer on tap, a coffee machine, and fresh juice from a machine. There is also lots of alcohol and a good selection of desserts. If you are flying ANA from Honolulu, you will board your aircraft directly from the lounge via a ramp connecting to the jetbridge.
ANA also offers the best lie-flat First Class seat to and from Honolulu. It is at least as good as the Hawaiian airlines lie-flat seat, but All Nippon’s routing is not convenient for most North American travelers.
All Nippon Airways operates three A380s exclusively on the Japan-Hawaii route. All painted in special “sea turtle” liveries. The First Class cabin on ANA’s A380s is located on the upper deck and is an exclusive space with only eight seats, featuring a wallpaper patterned with a starry sky.
Lie-flat First Class seats are laid out across two rows of 1-2-1 and are separated from the Business Class section, which also has lie-flat seats by a galley. Each seat features its own door and provides passengers with loads of privacy. All First Class seats have a 32-inch LCD widescreen TV, a wide table, extra reading lights, and a cupboard. There is also an adjustable partition screen between the center seats.
The cabin’s graphics and lighting aim to emulate Hawaiian scenery, including sunrises, starry skies, and rainbows. There’s a minibar right at the front of the plane for First Class snacks. This is the best way to fly to Hawaii. The only problem is that this route may not be convenient if you are not originating in Japan!
ANA Business Class is very good, and it includes lie-flat seats. ANA’s Business Class offers pairs of seats in the middle as the set-up is in a 1-2-1 layout, allowing passengers to enjoy and share their exciting travel experiences. Each seat offers direct aisle access, an 18-inch TV, as well as relatively amenities like a power socket and USB ports.
In my opinion, the best seats on the plane are the windows with direct aisle access. This Business Class cabin is very solid, with a nice flatbed seat with direct aisle access. What more could you want?
Premium Economy on other ANA aircraft usually has about 20 seats, but the FLYING HONUs offer 73, allowing more passengers to experience the premium features. These seats are laid out in a 2-3-2 configuration, with 38 inches of seat pitch with leg rest. The entertainment screens measure 15.6 inches (except the first row, which has an 11.6-inch screen).
3. Qantas
Qantas has a reputation for being the safest airline in the world. Qantas hasn’t had a fatal crash. This reputation was glorified in the 1988 blockbuster Rain Man when Dustin Hoffman’s character refused to get on a flight unless it was Qantas because “Qantas Never Crash”.
Qantas is a great airline to fly from Australia to Honolulu, but it does not offer First Class on this route. Qantas in First Class is one of the best First Class airlines in the world, but they do not fly planes with First Class to Hawaii. Their Business Class cabin is still very good with lie-flat seats.
If you are departing from Honolulu in Business Class, you will be able to access their Honolulu airport lounge. Unfortunately, this lounge is not very good! It is small and rectangular with TVs and drab, dated decor. The food is fairly awful, too. Muesli bars, sandwiches, cereal, fruit, cookies, bread, and cheese. Drinks are plunge coffee as there are no machines, plus soft drinks, tea, water, spirits, and other alcohol. If you hold Oneworld Sapphire or Emerald status, you will do better to use the American Airlines/JAL Admirals Club lounge.
4. Japan Airlines
I have experienced Business Class on Japan Airlines in and out of Tokyo. My last flight on JAL Business Class was after a stop in Tokyo which had followed an inward flight on Japan Airlines in their JAL Sky Suites to Tokyo. Hopefully, my experience will give you an indication of what their lie-flat Business Class product is like.
My lie-flat Business Class seat had a 74-inch pitch, was 25.5 inches wide, and could recline into a fully flatbed. Waiting for me on the seat was the amenity kit, blanket, slippers, and SONY noise-canceling headphones. It has all the usual items eye mask, earplugs, dental kit, lip balm, and some unusual ones like a pack of tissues and a moisturizing mask.
Japan Airlines Business Class begins by giving out a drink and a hot towel after boarding and before takeoff. For meals, Japan Airlines offers the choice of a Western meal or a Japanese one. They also offer a list of items that you can order anytime.
I had the Western option of a grilled squid with a couscous appetizer and a Wagyu sirloin steak as the main for my dinner. The food is very good. After the meal, I had a cup of tea and a tiramisu cake for dessert. Later, I ordered from the anytime menu. I had a French coconut curry shrimp and a bowl of Soba noodles. The shrimp presentation was perfect, exactly like the menu pictures. It was also very delicious. The soba noodles were also very comforting and well-balanced.
For your lie-flat travel experience, JAL actually gives a padded mattress to put onto the seat for a night of better sleep.
5. Air Canada
Air Canada has a new Business Class Executive Pod and does not offer an international First Class. T
The magic of Air Canada is that you can fly on this full-on international Business Class on some of their flights to Hawaii. The Executive Pod is available onboard the newest Air Canada Boeing 787 Dreamliner aircraft, as well as on selected Boeing 777 aircraft. On other international flights, you will currently probably experience the Classic Pod, which is inferior to the Executive Pod.
Air Canada’s seasonal service between Toronto and Honolulu is on its state-of-the-art Boeing 787 Dreamliner. Customers traveling between Toronto and Hawaii will have the option to fly in Air Canada’s Signature cabin, featuring fully lie-flat suites, meals prepared by celebrated Canadian chef David Hawksworth, and other amenities.
Air Canada is the only airline flying non-stop from Eastern Canada to Hawaii and offering the superior comfort of the Dreamliner. The Boeing 787 Dreamliner offers three cabins of service: Air Canada Signature Class (which is their Business Class), Premium Economy, and Economy. Customers can also collect and redeem Aeroplan Miles through Canada’s leading loyalty program when traveling on Air Canada, and eligible customers have access to priority check-in, Maple Leaf Lounges, priority boarding, and other benefits.
Air Canada Signature Service customers receive priority service at every stage of the journey, including access to select airport concierge services, expedited check-in and security clearance, priority baggage handling, and boarding. Customers will also enjoy lounge access at both Toronto-Pearson and Honolulu.
Onboard, the service includes next-generation lie-flat suites with mattress pads to enhance sleeping comfort; Hawksworth menu items; a wine selection chosen by Air Canada sommelier Véronique Rivest; and Lavazza espresso and cappuccino.
These lie-flat seats are set up with a pillow and blanket. The seat is comfortable with a 203.2 cm lie-flat bed, which is 53cm wide, and it is pretty comfortable for sleeping on. The seat also has a head and neck massage button if you like that kind of thing. There is also plenty of storage and enough power sockets to keep your tech alive.
Straight after boarding, passengers are offered the usual welcome drink, which includes Drappier champagne with nuts.
Air Canada’s International Business Class menus include dishes sourced from other traditions, such as chicken biryani, Thai green curry, and Moroccan tagine. On Asian flights, dishes are Asian-inspired, and when traveling to Tokyo, expect Japanese-inspired meals like noodle soups, dim sum, and traditional Chinese and Korean dishes.
On my last Air Canada flight, the starter was a salad followed by smoked salmon and couscous with creme fraiche. My main choice was a tasty Alberta beef tenderloin (you can rarely go wrong with the Air Canada beef option), then you can have a cheese plate followed by a dessert.
Flights from elsewhere in Canada, like Vancouver and a few Toronto flights, fly on the Boeing 777 aircraft. These are confusing as some have lie-flat seats and others have the old Business Class seats.
6. American Airlines
American Airlines flies to Hawaii with lie-flat seats from Dallas/Fort Worth (DFW), Chicago O’Hare (ORD), and Phoenix (PHX), but they don’t seem to offer lie-flat seats from Los Angeles. In fact, all other planes offer seats similar to Domestic First with no amenity kits and no lie-flat seats, and American offers a very average experience.
The Phoenix (PHX) to Honolulu (HNL) sometimes flies an Airbus A330-300 with flatbed seats in a 1-2-1 configuration and sometimes a Boeing 757-200, which has recliner seats (Boo!)
On flights from Los Angeles, AA usually operates Airbus A321s with domestic First Class seats with large-screen seat-back entertainment. However, American Airlines occasionally schedules international long-haul widebody aircraft on Hawaii routes from LAX, giving customers lie-flat cabin seats with direct aisle access.
It isn’t easy to find out if your proposed AA flight has lie-flat seats. Flights using Boeing 777-200 planes, which AA do have lie flats, and these show as “772” in your aircraft type.
Routes for this plane include:
- Dallas/Fort Worth DFW – Honolulu HNL
- Dallas/Fort Worth DFW – Kona KOA (on the big island, Hawaii)
- Dallas/Fort Worth DFW – Kahului OGG (on Maui)
American Airlines also has Boeing 787-8 planes available from Chicago to Honolulu. If the First cabin is configured 1-2-1 on this route, you most likely have a lie-flat.
7. Delta Air Lines
Delta flies to Honolulu, Hawaii, from Atlanta, Minneapolis, New York-JFK, Portland, Salt Lake City (SLC), San Francisco, and Seattle.
Delta First Class lie-flat Delta One seats to Hawaii are usually flown from ATL (Atlanta), Minneapolis (MSP) and Salt Lake City to HNL (Honolulu) using its Airbus A330-300 with international Business Class configuration. They also fly Salt Lake City (SLC) to Maui (OGG) on a seasonal service on a Boeing 767-300 with a lie-flat seat.
These lie flat seats are on any aircraft with A330-neo or any Boeing 767 aircraft that have been retrofitted. Delta also fly to Hawaii from Detroit, New York JFK, Portland PDX, San Francisco SFO, or Seattle SEA, although lie-flat seats are unusual on these routes.
Occasionally, Delta may fly their Delta One lie-flat product between LAX and HNL but this cannot be relied on. If you are flying from Los Angeles (LAX) to Honolulu (HNL), there are several flights a day, but only one flight on the Boeing 767-300 has a flatbed.
Delta makes it easy to find flights with lie-flat seats as there is a bed icon in the search results, so do check before you finalize your booking.
8. United Airlines
You can fly United First Class lie-flat seats to Hawaii from Newark (EWR), Washington D.C. (IAD), Chicago O’Hare (ORD), Denver (DEN), and Houston (IAD) to Honolulu (HNL). These flights are usually on the Boeing 767-400ER widebody with the airline’s newer BusinessFirst international cabin with fully lie-flat seats. They may also offer lie-flat seats on the Boeing 767-300 with a 2-1-2 seat configuration or the Boeing 777-200 with a 2-4-2 seat configuration. You also might get lie-flat seats if you fly on a Boeing 767-300 aircraft with 2-1-2 seat configuration.
From LAX and San Francisco, there is bad news. You are usually stuck with flights on the Boeing 737 aircraft with a standard domestic First Class experience. The route you want to pick is the San Francisco (SFO) to Honolulu (HNL). Some United flights on this route have lie-flat seats on Boeing 777-200. United has more than one flight from Los Angeles (LAX) to Honolulu (HNL), but only one flight a day has lie-flat seats on their Boeing 777-200.
10. Alaska Airlines
Alaska Airlines offers more than 160 flights a week to Hawaii from eight West Coast cities: Anchorage, Bellingham, Oakland, Portland, Sacramento, San Jose, San Diego, and Seattle. These flights will fly you into all four Hawaiian Islands: Hawaii (the Big Island, Kauai), Maui, and Oahu.
Alaska Airlines beats most of the American airline competition when it comes to the quality of service and food on board, but it doesn’t offer any lie-flat seats on its mainland North America to Hawaii flights.
Alaska, Southwest, and Sun Country fly between the US and Hawaii, but none of them offer lie-flat seats in their First Class cabins.
Unfortunately, the lie-flat picture is mixed and ever-changing as new planes are introduced on each route, so check the aircraft type carefully before booking. I hope this article helps to point you towards better choices, but always double-check the aircraft before booking.
Below, you will find my reviews of recent experiences I have had with Hawaiian Airlines, United Airlines, American Airlines, Japan Airlines, Air Canada, and Delta.
Best Airlines To Fly To Hawaii In First Class
Review: Hawaiian Airlines A330 First Class
Last Summer, I flew aboard the premium class cabin of a Hawaiian Airlines Airbus A330 from Honolulu (in Hawaii) to San Francisco (in California). Hawaiian Airlines calls this premium cabin ‘First Class’ on domestic flights from Hawaii to the mainland USA, while the same cabin is designated ‘Business Class’ on international flights.
American Airlines Long Haul Business Class Flight Reviews
American Airlines, United Airlines and Delta are the three main North American airlines and all three have all recently launched a new, upgraded business class soft and hard product, with improved seats, food and service. We've discussed in more detail which of these new Business Class suites is best. In my opinion, the United Polaris Business Class Pod cabins are probably the best looking of the three seats and the fact that these cabins are complemented by matching ground facilities means that this entire product is more of a complete experience than the American Airlines or Delta offerings.
United Airlines Long Haul Business Class Flight Reviews
United Airlines has recently launched a new, upgraded business class soft and hard product, with improved seats, food and service. In my opinion, the United Polaris Business Class Pod cabins are probably the best looking of the seats in this category offered by the three main North American airlines - United, American and Delta. The fact that these cabins are complemented by matching ground facilities means that this entire product is more of a complete experience than the American Airlines or Delta offerings.
Japan Airlines Long Haul Business Class Flight Reviews
I have flown on Japan Airlines (JAL) many times and have reviewed their long-haul First and Business Class flights. My trip reports can be found below. Japan Airlines (JAL) offers a world-leading First class. In-flight, service is faultless with smiling faces. Staff are polite, professional and anticipatory. The food and the drinks menu is one of the best we have seen. The seat is oh so comfortable, especially in bed mode and the amenity kit is great – soft, snuggly pyjamas, a useful unisex kit plus gender-specific Shiseido face care kits.
Air Canada Long Haul Business Class Flight Reviews
Luxury Travel Diary's editors have flown on Air Canada many times and have reviewed their long-haul Business Class flights. Trip reports can be found below. The Executive Pod is the most exciting Business Class seat on Air Canada and is available onboard the newest Air Canada Boeing 787 Dreamliner aircraft and on selected Boeing 777 aircraft. On other international flights, you will probably experience the Classic Pod which is inferior to the Executive Pod.
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