Hawaiian Airlines is concentrating its cabin investment on its fleet of 24 Airbus A330-200s, which will be reconfigured with new interiors and four cabin types by 2028. The front cabin will become the Leihoku Suites, with 22 lie-flat suites in a 1-2-1 layout with sliding doors, replacing today's 18 lie-flat seats in a 2-2-2 layout, each with a 19-inch 4K screen, chef-designed dining with wine pairings, hotel-quality bedding, Starlink WiFi for Atmos Rewards members and a dedicated check-in and concierge service in Honolulu and Seattle. The second cabin, Premium Reserve, offers 38 inches of seat pitch and a 16-inch OLED touchscreen, while economy passengers will get a new 13-inch 4K OLED touchscreen.
The reconfiguration changes the A330 layout from 18 business class seats and 260 economy seats, of which 68 are Premium Class, to 22 business class seats, 28 premium economy seats and 204 economy seats, of which 48 are Premium Class. Hawaiian's chief executive said the retrofit will remove four economy seats and replace them with 12 higher-class seats, and that earning more from the front of the aircraft takes pressure off fares at the back. A new 200-guest lounge in Honolulu's Terminal 1 is also part of the refresh and is set to open in early 2028.
Hawaiian's narrowbody fleet is not getting the same treatment. Its 19 Boeing 717s, which serve interisland routes, are due to retire and be replaced by mid-aged Boeing 737-800s transferred from Alaska starting in 2028, with the phase-out set to begin that year; Hawaiian has so far received one 737-800 from Alaska. The future of its 18 Airbus A321neos, the fleet's most modern aircraft at an average age of just seven years, remains undetermined: Alaska has said the fleet will either double in size or be phased out entirely, with no final decision expected until around 2027-2028, so investing in new interiors for them now would be risky.