Hawaiian Airlines to fit 22 Leihōkū suites on each A330 from 2028
Retrofits across all 24 aircraft are due to finish within a few years, with bedding bookable from next summer.
Hawaiian Airlines will fit each of its Airbus A330s with 22 new Leihōkū Business Class suites and, for the first time, a premium economy section called Premium Reserve. The rollout is expected to begin in 2028, with retrofits on all 24 aircraft slated for completion within a few years.
Leihōkū means "lei of stars" in Hawaiian, and the interior uses a warm, colourful night-sky palette meant to encourage rest. The name echoes the Aurora theme of Alaska Airlines, which owns Hawaiian and announced the plans alongside its own cabin and lounge upgrades.
What the Leihōkū suite offers
The suite has a seat that lies fully flat as a bed, a privacy door and direct aisle access for every passenger. Mid-cabin suites add a pass-through window that opens and closes, for extra privacy or for conversation. The armrest area has a wireless phone charger.
The suites are based on the Collins Aerospace Super Diamond platform and carry 19-inch 4K entertainment screens. That seat is also found at Air Canada, American Airlines, China Airlines and Qatar Airways. Hawaiian will add hotel-quality bedding, available for booking from next summer.
Food is part of the pitch. Leihōkū passengers will get dishes inspired by local ingredients and culinary traditions, curated by Hawaiian Airlines Executive Chef Dell Valdez, with wine pairings. Hawaiian calls its inflight service Mea Ho‘okipa, meaning "I am host".
Alaska Air Group CEO Ben Minicucci said: "We believe premium is more than a seat. It's how guests feel from the moment they book their trip to the moment they arrive at the airport to when they're in the air with us." He said Aurora and Leihōkū suit their respective brands.
Premium Reserve and the economy cabin
Premium Reserve will have 28 seats on each A330, with 38 inches of pitch and a seat slightly wider than in Economy. Each has a 16-inch 4K OLED monitor with Bluetooth connectivity, plus AC and USB-C charging for passengers' devices.
With the new seats, premium seating will make up 40 percent of each A330, up from 30 percent today. Atmos Rewards members will get free Starlink Wi-Fi, sponsored by T-Mobile. Hawaiian's A330s fly routes linking Hawaii with North America, Asia and the South Pacific.
Economy is changing too, though not by way of a new seat. Hawaiian dropped complimentary meals on most flights this summer and now offers a pre-order menu managed by Maui-based chef and James Beard Award finalist Sheldon Simeon.
A new lounge in Honolulu
Hawaiian will open a nearly 13,000-square-foot premium lounge at Daniel K. Inouye International Airport in Honolulu in early 2028. It is planned for the Mauka Concourse in Terminal 1 and will hold up to 200 guests, including travellers booked in Leihōkū suites.
Access will be similar to the existing Plumeria Lounge, which at just over 3,000 square feet is considerably smaller. Inside will be locally inspired food and drink, a coffee offering built around a local signature, a full-service cocktail bar and private workspaces.
Premium passengers of both Hawaiian and Alaska will use a new dedicated check-in point in Honolulu. Alaska opened a similar area at Seattle-Tacoma in April for Suites passengers and Atmos Rewards Titanium members, feeding into a TSA lane.
What Alaska is doing alongside
Alaska's Boeing 787-9 and 787-10 fleets will receive 34 Aurora Suites and 28 Premium Reserve seats. At least 25 Boeing 737-10s will get 12 Aurora Suites and 12 Premium Reserve seats, as we reported in our story on Alaska Airlines fitting lie-flat suites on 737 MAX 10s.
In Seattle, a two-level lounge complex of nearly 41,000 square feet is due in late 2027, with a 500-seat Alaska Lounge and a 200-seat Aurora Lounge. Delta's 2025 complex there is about 24,000 square feet. Alaska also plans a 14,000-square-foot San Diego lounge in 2028.
The money explains the push. Reuters reports Alaska expects premium revenue to climb from about 36% of total revenue in 2026 to more than 40% by 2030. Delta drew about 44% of passenger revenue from premium cabins in the second quarter of 2026.
Management estimates the premium initiatives could eventually add $3 to $4 per share to earnings. Alaska also now targets 15 long-haul Seattle destinations by 2030, up from 12, with eight still to be announced. Athens and Paris are due in May 2027.
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Images: Credit: Hawaiian Airlines; Simple Flying
