February Tropical Paradise - United Airlines Boeing 777-300ER to Hawaii (SFO-HNL-SFO)

[SQfanatic]

Towards the evening we headed ourselves to Ala Moana State Beach and right across to the Ala Moana Shopping Center.

Hit or miss sunset depending on the clouds in position.







More of the Ala Moana shopping center.

[SQfanatic]

With the last full day being Friday (2/21) at Honolulu/Waikiki, here are some final view pictures from the 35th floor of our room and the hotel





One side has a mountain view. Those rooms are cheaper, but I find it that if you go to Hawaii, you must book an Ocean View.



We checked out around 11AM even though our airport prebooked shuttle for the return was at 8-8:30PM. So we ended up going to a timeshare event by Hilton, got a prepaid card and back to Hilton Hawaiian Village to hang out.



This hotel happens to have 7 towers and one of them is a residential tower if you are part of HGV. We hung out around the mall front and beach front.



ABC Stores, plenty in Waikiki.





















Back at Waikiki Beach











We had dinner at PF Changs like Monday and Wednesday and snipped any Aloha pictures.



The fact my flight on Friday evening was a redeye back to SFO was actually good timing. We learned from locals and even our tour guide on Thursday that every Friday, Waikiki Beach does a fireworks at 7:45PM (75 minutes after sunset, depending on time of year). We got to see it very close to the Marriott (and walking distance to Hilton Waikiki Beach) and while it was far, it did not disappoint.

Here are some fireworks pictures.










This was about a 4 minute event ending at 7:49PM, so we headed back to the hotel, waited for the shuttle to take us to the airport. It was probably one of the best trips I've ever had in terms of recharging, replenishing my mental well being and so on. Certainly sad to leave, but I will try to visit more often every few years or so. Just not 12 years of wait time anymore.

[SQfanatic]

Flight: United Airlines flight UA1947
Route: Honolulu - San Francisco
Aircraft: N2551U (Boeing 777-300ER, 5.1 years old)
Livery: New
Date of Departure: February 21 (11:30PM), Arrival February 22 (6:34AM)
Seat: 38A (Economy Class)
Configuration: 3-class (United Polaris Business, Premium Plus/Premium Economy, Economy)

Our journey began to Honolulu Airport and our flight was a redeye back to San Francisco, reaching around 6:30AM. Some pictures as we entered Honolulu Daniel K. Inouye Airport somewhere just a little after 9PM for an 11:30PM flight



Nothing changed really from the last time in Honolulu. It's a mix of open (humid, ocean breeze) and A/C. Before continuing to bag drop, you'd have to screen your luggage (like what some Indian airports do)





We got our bag drop stickers and proceeded to security



Lots of fans and one place with a pluggable A/C (kind of reminds me of going to Kumaran Silks in Chennai) where it has that.



TSA Pre took some time to even navigate and when we even did that, it was no more than a 5-10 minute ordeal. All we had to do was show our ID because that determines if you are on a flight or not (scanned).

Airside, it's good, but it can be like a maze if you are going to the designated gate. Our gate was G4, but we landed up in the D side.









A Westjet Boeing 787-9 jet - you can hear the engines as it's not a window from this view, but in the G gates quieter.







Walking to the G gates were a little of a maze and you'd have to pass the outdoor part which was unique about Hawaii







Some Delta Airlines planes - Namely Boeing 767 planes.







Our gate was G4 and look who it is. An old friend who flew my parents & I back in July 2022 from New York (Newark) to San Francisco N2251U, new livery and one of the youngest in United's Boeing 777-300ER fleet. The interior is the same as any other 777 as well as the Wifi so consistency on that front...Kudos.









We would board at 10:40PM by group number (we were 3)



Polaris Business Class



Premium Economy (2-4-2) quoted as Premium Plus



3-4-3 economy class. I'd give this an A compared to many who are tighter (i.e. Cathay Pacific, Emirates) because it was comfortable for sleeping, sitting and had plenty of legroom.





I was on seat 38A. Last time it was 39A from Newark to San Francisco.



Greeted with a blanket on this domestic sector.



Legroom although advertised at 31 inches and average legroom, was well above average to me. Not a tight seat squeeze at all.



The view would be very dark the whole way until landing when we would have the crack of sunrise.

[SQfanatic]

United's inflight entertainment system











Unlike the last time I did not browse through the movies and others but went to the map.

















The cabin just before doors closed. We pushed back around 11:23PM. Hawaiian boarding music theme playing in the background. Our captain would come mentioning the flight time would be 4.5 hours. First half of the flight smooth, second half, very bumpy (which held true), hence why cabin service earlier.



United's Panasonic Wifi has also a gate-to-gate connect, and for a 4 hour flight $10 is very reasonable





Pushing back from gate G4. Started our GE90 engines and it was about a 15-20 minute taxi to the runway with no wait for takeoff.






We took off around 11:42PM HST/1:42AM PST and made a sharp left towards the Pacific and towards San Francisco














Looking at the city lights of Waikiki and Honolulu

[SQfanatic]

Inflight snack service began with snacks and drinks



Because it was well past midnight, I decided to have a diet coke and a snack. Coffee after landing. I got close to 2 hours of sleep after this.



Flight map from Honolulu to San Francisco









































This map is interactive as well.

Lavatory visit.







Dark cabin as folks were sleeping.





After 2.5 hours of sleep captain came with an announcement we'd be touching down 20 minutes ahead of schedule at 6:10AM and parking at gate G9.

Speedbrake applied

[SQfanatic]

Flaps extended



Making a left turn towards the Bay Area and witnessing a slow crack of dawn around 6:10AM.

































Touchdown at San Francisco. It was a graceful and smooth landing like many modern aircraft these days.



















Parking at gate G9 around 6:20AM. However, it took time to disembark because there was a medical emergency last 2 hours of the flight.



Disembarking



3-4-3 Economy Class



2-4-2 Premium Plus (Premium Economy)





Polaris Business Class





If you disembark at San Francisco at the International Terminal from a domestic flight, you will not go to the customs side, but back to the departure airside and an exit opposite to security. Reminds me of the days I lived in Minnesota in 2019/2020 for work and flew on Sun Country.





A better shot of N2251U, which sadly was hard to take at HNL since the tail lights were not turned on.









The end of a rejuvenating week-long trip ended early this morning and with still 2 full days to rest, Monday, I will be back to work.

Next trip - Coming up in May 2025 to India for my birthday.

[SQfanatic]

Overall thoughts on United's Boeing 777-300ER - Domestic service & Hawaii?

United is a pretty decent airline in all my years of travel. With it going to Hawaii the service was pretty top notch for a domestic carrier. While you won't get food, snacks still did the trick. Last time I flew United to Hawaii was back in 2013 - I was in my third year of college, we took a Boeing 767-400ER back then (later time), came on a redeye which back then was a Boeing 757-200 (narrow body).

Boarding music was pretty much Hawaiian themed and comfort is pretty good (not wide, but very comfortable for a 3-4-3 777-300ER). I would not mind this for long haul with them.

I deliberately booked both ways on the 777-300ER because of my enthusiasm for the 777, still, but also the price was the cheapest to fly this aircraft type with good timings. It's a win-win.

Fun fact: United only operates the Boeing 777-300ER the following Hawaiian route:

San Francisco - Honolulu - Guam (Reaches +1 day later)

Guam (+2 days) - Honolulu (-1 day) - San Francisco (+1 day later)

So these flights continued to Guam or came from Guam which is 7 hours from Honolulu in Oceania.

If my travels ever take me to Hawaii again, I would happily pick this flight combination in a heartbeat as long as the Boeing 777-300ER operates.

Thoughts on Hawaii?

Nice to be back there after 12 years. Hotel was top notch as well as the service and folks are very patient, laid back and easy going especially for directions and customer service wise. Beach was also great. Although the first day was a rainout and not the others, we did not let it dampen our Hawaii spirit. It's also good to do some independent sightseeing on the trolley for other places like Downtown Honolulu (not bad, but more like Berkeley in some parts). We did not cover Pearl Harbor this time. Plus Oahu is scenic with the beaches, the blow hole & the Dole Plantation, all of which I truly enjoyed. We had an excellent tour guide who was not only hospitable, but open to many cultures, showed us his residence, where he grew up and amazing knowledge of Hawaiian history. Patient and kind. Plus as anyone would say at this time of the year, good to experience a week away from the mild (albeit cool) Winter blues and experience more daylight (till 6:30PM, which I wish was a winter thing even in California) and some nice heat and humidity.

This to date was actually the most stress free trip I have ever experienced - did not pack too heavily and I was never very tired from being active despite the heat and humidity.

I would highly recommend this.

Thanks for reading!

[yflyer]

Great pics of Hawaii, SQfanatic! I haven't been to Hawaii in a long time, looks like it's definitely worth a return trip! Looking forward to the rest of the TR!

[SQfanatic]

Great pics of Hawaii, SQfanatic! I haven't been to Hawaii in a long time, looks like it's definitely worth a return trip! Looking forward to the rest of the TR!

Thanks very much yflyer for the comments. I agree, and even though we booked the ticket a week in advance, it was a reasonable price since February itself is an off peak month. In a nutshell, this was overdue for 2 years and if I return it will not be a 12 year wait.

My May trip is going to be on SQ. While the trip is going to be in Chennai (plus some beaches), at the same time, we're actually going through Delhi as a transit because Delhi was actually cheaper (appropriately priced for off peak). I'm going with my dad this time and maybe a year after my mom retires we'll plan something too in May when she is ready.

I'll be on the A350-900 (SQ31), Boeing 787-10 (SQ402), Airbus A380-800 (SQ403, I'd wonder if this would be comfortable despite the look of the seats cramped), and A350-900 (SQ32). Not exactly looking forward to the A350, but I think it's the best deal we could get. I wouldn't have minded paying $400 more for EK's A380 and 777, but there will always be next time.

My parents on the other hand are going in November during Thanksgiving week and I only take a trip once a year to India usually, and they're taking EK since it's clear my mom prefers EK's A380, not minding the fact she has to pay a little more to enjoy a comfortable Economy Class experience on EK and in terms of my mom's work (till she retires), she would rather take a half day because SQ really doesn't work for her (only 9:30AM to fly Y class, yuck) and only seldom times will SQ bring back the 3-class A359 on SQ34/33. They'll be flying to TRV, returning from Chennai (but Chennai would be far more brief than the past, instead of 5-6 days+, 1-2 at most). If UA comes down, maybe I'll try to sneak and fly for fewer days without compromising my PTO on Thanksgiving (depending on the situation).