Hawaiian
to assign seats
for interisland

The change costs nothing and
saves time, the carrier says

There won't be long lines anymore for passengers trying to get seats together on Hawaiian Airlines' interisland flights.

The company announced last night that beginning March 1 it will assign seats on its daily interisland flights and eliminate open seating. The 11 Boeing 717s-200s that Hawaiian uses on those flights have 123 seats, with eight of them reserved for first-class passengers.

Passengers connecting to Molokai, Lanai and West Maui via code-share partner Island Air will still have open seating on those portions of the flight.

Hawaiian also said it has expanded its Drive-Thru Check-In service for interisland flights to trans-Pacific flights that operate during peak departure hours. The service is on the ground level outside the mauka end of the interisland terminal. Ticket agents will check in customers and baggage and provide directions to parking and boarding gates. Baggage will be screened in the drive-through area.

The airline, which already assigns seats on its trans-Pacific routes, is making the switch from open seating to provide "a hassle-free experience" for interisland customers. Hawaiian said it wants to avoid the congestion that built up near the gates from passengers arriving 30 minutes or more before their flights to stake their place in line. It also wanted to facilitate connections for mainland travelers who are used to getting seat assignments.

"We want a hassle-free experience for Hawaiian's customers, and that means they shouldn't have to wait in line just to make sure they get the seat they want," said Blaine Miyasato, Hawaiian's vice president of customer services.

Joy Tanouye, owner of Honolulu-based 808 Travel, applauded the change.

"I think it's wonderful," she said. "It's similar to going to the mainland on United and Southwest. A lot of people ask, 'Where do I sit?' By doing this, it's more controlled for the airline as well as the travel agent. This will be good for even mainland people because they're so used to having seat assignments."

But Bonnie Gutner, the owner of Travel Inc. in Kailua, called the idea "crazy."

"For years clients have been totally attuned to not having interisland seat assignments, and I think it's worked very well," she said. "I think it will add more overhead, more costs, and certainly more people will be involved. I think it's a very strange idea coming now, on top of them trying to come out of bankruptcy. A lot of commuter lines across the country don't allow seat assignments. The flights, at the most, are 27, 29, 32 minutes. I think 'walk on, walk off' is more efficient than assigned seating."

Miyasato said no extra costs will be incurred since the airline prints out boarding passes anyway and the company simultaneously will introduce boarding-pass gate readers.

"You just scan it, and it identifies you as a customer and acknowledges you're on the airplane," he said. "Sometimes we have three individuals working the interisland gate, but once we perfect the art with the gate readers, we'll be operating with two on a consistent basis."

Miyasato said tests that the airline conducted on the new boarding procedures actually saved two to three minutes because passengers tend to bunch in the front of the plane. Now they will be boarded from the back to the front, he said.

Gareth Sakakida, who manages the nonprofit Hawaii Transportation Association, said he likes the idea of assigned seating.

"I do have kids," he said. "I think that makes it a lot easier. You know you're going to be sitting next to each other. Today, with the open seating, unless you're there early, you're going to be scattered throughout the plane. Even flying alone, you may have a preference for a window or an aisle, even on some of those shorter trips."

Michael Swenson, co-owner of Pacific Rim Rep Group Inc., a marketing agent for the food-service industry, also approved the change.

"It seems like an OK idea if it works and confirms your seat," he said. "I've never been bumped from a Hawaiian flight as long as I've had a reservation. I guess they're doing something that Aloha is not doing."

Aloha Airlines, which like Hawaiian is in Chapter 11 bankruptcy, plans to keep its open-seating arrangement.

"We like to do it local style, on a first-come, first-served basis on the short interisland flights," said spokesman Stu Glauberman, noting that Aloha already tried assigned seating in the mid-1980s.