We got a sneak peek at Hawaiian Airlines' stunning new Boeing 787-9 Dreamliner

09.03.2024 - 23:55 / thepointsguy.com / Airlines

Travelers headed to Hawaii are about to enjoy an upgraded experience thanks to the stunning new cabins that Hawaiian Airlines has unveiled aboard its Boeing 787-9 Dreamliners, which it just started taking delivery of in February.

The Honolulu-based carrier will put these new planes into service in April. But we got a sneak peek at Hawaiian Airlines' first Dreamliner Saturday during a stop at Los Angeles International Airport (LAX), where we got to check out the new business-class and economy seats for ourselves.

We also got to chat with the airline's Chief Marketing Officer, Avi Mannis, to hear more about the innovative designs incorporated into the 787-9 and what passengers can expect.

"We knew that when we came to market with a new aircraft," Mannis said, "we wanted to deliver something that elevated the level of service…in all the classes of service. This isn't just about the new lie-flat business-class suites. It's about delivering a better experience to the guest no matter where on the aircraft they're sitting."

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Here's our first look at the new Hawaiian Airlines Boeing 787-9 Dreamliner and all the exciting new features on board.

Perhaps most exciting of all, Hawaiian Airlines decided to install all-new suite-style Adient Aerospace Ascent seats aboard its Boeing 787-9 Dreamliners for an experience it has dubbed, "Leihoku," or lei of stars. Mannis noted that these suites, which were on order before the pandemic, have been a long time coming, especially as premium travel demand to Hawaii has boomed both during and after the pandemic.

There are just 34 of these fixtures, each with a closing door for privacy. They are configured in a 1-2-1 pattern with 9 rows of single seats along each side of the cabin and 8 rows of two seats each running down the center.

These are similar to Qatar Airways' 787-9 business-class seats, where those along the cabin sides are angled out toward the windows.

Seats in the middle section, however, have their head and backrests next to one another and are angled out toward the aisle. There are tiered privacy dividers between them that can be raised above eye level, or lowered all the way to seat level for passengers traveling together who want to create a more intimate shared space. To manipulate them, you can use electronic buttons, and to lower them, both passengers need to press the down arrow at the same time.

All the business-class seats are 21 inches wide between armrests (though you can lower the adjustable armrest to open up five more inches) and recline to lie-flat beds that are around 77 inches long.

This is a far cry from the airline's tightly packed 2-2-2 first-class seating