I was able to book an award flight from SEA-HNL-KOA in First Class for 40k Atmos points with the SEA-HNL portion on the 787. The flight ended up being on the first of the aircraft with the new global Alaska livery inspired by Aurora Borealis.
The plane was less than one week old and had the new plane smell. The 787 aircraft have the First class suite configuration with each seat having direct aisle access and a door. The seats are in a 1-2-1 configuration, so if you are traveling with someone you may want to pick middle seats, while solo travelers would want a window.
It is a wonderful Business Class product that reminds me of the 787 set up on British Airways.
I picked seat 5J, which was a good choice as it has a window right in the middle.
I noticed 6J was essentially missing a window, so I would recommend avoiding this seat.
Next to the seat is a small locker for headphones with a built in mirror. Next to the locker is a light sconce that has three different brightness settings.
The area to the right of the locker is a pocket for your phone that charges your phone wirelessly. It is an extremely handy feature and fits your phone snuggly in place.
There is a small reading light above the wireless phone charger.
There is also a power outlet with USB-A power near the entertainment remote. There is not a USB-C outlet.
Just below the self next to the window are the controls for the seat.
The seat faces a nice sized entertainment screen.
The screen is touchscreen and incredibly responsive. It feels like using a new iPad. There is also backlighting which makes it pleasant to watch when the lights in the cabin are dimmed.
Under the screen is a footrest. When the seat is in lie-flat position, it meets up with the footrest and offers a good amount of space.
Under the screen is a pullout table that can be swiveled and extended quite far.
Finally to the left of the seat and directly next to the sliding door is an armrest that can be raised or lowered.
Above the seat are two reading lights that are controlled by the remote. There are no controllable air vents, my one criticism of the plane.
The ceiling is quite neat with LED lighting and stars. The colors can change as well.
The suite doors are able to be closed once you are in the air for more privacy. Even with the door closed, the suite felt roomy.
The seats in the middle have a divider that can be lowered all the way so that the two suites join. But the way the seats are set up, they face towards the aisles so you can’t make one larger bed.
On each seat was the menu along with a blanket and pillow. There are no amenity kits on the SEA-HNL flight. It would have been nice to at least be given a water bottle for the trip.
When I first sat down at my seat, I was offered a Mai Tai, juice, or sparkling wine.
After take off, dinner and drink orders were taken by the flight attendant.
Drinks were served with macadamia nuts.
For my meal I had the vegetable curry, which was nearly identical to my flight on Hawaiian’s A330.
Overall the food was fine, but not as good of quality as I find in First Class on Alaska Airlines. Hopefully Alaska catering will do better once Alaska takes over service on the 787s.
The only other food that was served was a small packet of crackers towards the end of the flight. There was no snack basket or warm cookies like you get on Alaska.
My understanding is that the plan is for Alaska Airlines to operate the 787 aircraft, based out of Seattle. This is why they have introduced the new international livery. With a fantastic hard product, and with Alaska taking over the soft product, I think that Seattle has a lot to look forward to for international travel. It won’t ever be as strong as Asian or Middle East airlines, but I think Alaska will be able to compete with the big three domestic airlines as well as European carriers.
Have you tried out the Hawaiian Airlines 787 First Class? What was your impression? Share in the comments.
