If you have this app I feel you. I really do. It is just mind-boggling that it can’t function the way so many other airline apps do and yet I go back to it time and time again.
When I saw that the Hawaiian Airlines mobile app was updated 5 days ago in the app store I was cautiously optimistic. I have a few upcoming flights to fully test it out but some of the features just won’t work with my destinations. Read on to see what I mean.
What is updated on the Hawaiian Airlines mobile app?
According to the app store, the big update is you can now pay for flights with your Hawaiian Airlines gift cards directly in the app. Forgive my skepticism about the following new features but my frustration with this app has been simmering for a long time. As the saying goes, I will believe it when I see it. Any-hoo, here are the existing features I hope Hawaiian Airlines can improve upon.
Easy check-in
The app promises a smoother start to my travel day with easier check-in, but based on past experiences, I’m not so sure. They claim that all my upcoming trips will be accessible and easy to manage, but I’ve encountered glitches before.
Convenient mobile boarding passes
In theory, I should be able to access my mobile boarding pass swiftly within the app or add it to my Apple Wallet if I have an iPhone. But remember the times the app wouldn’t load? No paper prints, they say, but I’ve ended up having to rush to airport kiosks before. And that auto-update feature for any changes? It hasn’t always been as “automatic” as they claim.
Real-time flight notifications
While the app claims to send instant alerts about the gate or departure time changes, I’ve had delays in getting those notifications before. Hopefully, they’ve improved their timeliness.
Inter-island is always a bit more casual but flights to west coast and beyond, especially international, and this becomes even more critical for a smooth experience.
Interactive airport maps
These maps sound helpful, offering walking directions to my gate or baggage claim. But the fact that it’s only available in a few airports like Honolulu (HNL), Kahului (OGG), and Los Angeles (LAX) makes me skeptical about its actual usefulness.
Incidentally, my next 3 trips are Kona, Hilo, and San Francisco, go figure. My San Francisco flight will be on the new 787 in the business class suites so stay tuned for the review, gotta wait until April though.
In-App Uber/Lyft Options
This is one function that has seemed to work well for me as it links directly to my Uber app for seamless rideshare booking. I know Uber is also making big moved into the travel space so it will be interesting to follow further integrations like this.
In-app chat
The in-app chat feature is supposed to make it easy to get answers when I have questions. However, based on prior experiences, the response times have been anything but prompt.
In fact, I have had chat responses literally hours later and I didn’t even know how to respond at that point.
In-flight Entertainment
The app advertises in-flight entertainment options on their A321neo aircraft.
Available on iOS and Android
Though it’s nice that the app is available on both iOS and Android, compatibility issues have arisen before. Fingers crossed that they’ve ironed out those kinks by now.
Final Thoughts
I honestly just want the annoying red alert symbol on my app to go away after I read the credit card offer for the hundredth time.
I so desperately want this app to work smoothly but I won’t hold my breath on this one. The bar has been set by other airline apps that allow me to do so much on the go.
I’m surprised you didn’t list changing a flight.
Hi DB, there are several additional things the app can do but changing flights wasn’t listed on the website they have setup, https://www.hawaiianairlines.com/app . If you have used it to change flights let us know what kind of experience you had. Mahalo!