The Hawaiian Airlines A321neo Extra Comfort experience is a little different than the Extra Comfort experience on other Hawaiian Airlines aircraft. It’s better in some ways, and worse than others.
Long story short, they’re somewhat comfortable seats that actually look somewhat premium. But they’re somewhat lacking video screens as well.
The following is a full review of my somewhat recent experience in A321neo Extra Comfort from Kahului (Maui) to San Diego.
HA58
Kahului, HI (OGG) – San Diego, CA (SAN)
Thursday, May 8, 2025
Aircraft: A321neo
Registration: N214HA
Duration: 4 hours 59 minutes
Seat: 14G (Extra Comfort)
Arrival at the Kahului Airport
Arriving on a flight from Honolulu with over 2 1/2 hours to spare gave me a lot of time to think about the evolution that Hawaiian Airlines has gone through over the past 25 years.
They didn’t have “Extra Comfort” class back then. Flying economy meant putting up with cramped seats and abysmal in-flight entertainment. But today? The extra legroom and free Starlink Internet access made this a flight I was looking forward to. Sort of.
The boarding process
They promised a boarding time of 12:05 PM, and gosh darn it, they delivered. The only problem was that the gate that this flight was departing from wasn’t exactly what I would call “spacious.” There was a huge podium right smack dab in the middle of it, requiring the boarding queue to wrap around it (which threw everyone for a loop – including me).
Hawaiian Airlines A321neo Extra Comfort seat overview
Extra Comfort seats on the A321neo are standard economy class seats with six inches additional legroom. There are 44 of these seats total (arranged in a 3-3 layout), and they are located immediately behind the first class cabin.
It worth noting that there are no extra amenities included with a Hawaiian Airlines Extra Comfort seat. There are no pre-departure drinks. No blankets. No pillows. And certainly no amenity kits.
Departure from Kahului Airport
Gate departure was at 12:52 PM, which was two minutes behind schedule. It’s not like the Kahului Airport is a busy place or anything, so I wasn’t worried about any additional delays on the taxi over to the runway.
Liftoff from runway 2 ended up being five minutes late at 1:05 PM. Somehow we lost three minutes during the very short taxi from the gate. Then again, this is Hawaii, and things are generally more casual out here.
Food and drinks
I’m happy to report that you will get a free hot meal in Extra Comfort class. I guess as long as you don’t think about the fact that it’s the exact same thing they serve back in economy class, it’s not a bad little perk. Free food is free food, right? Especially on a domestic US flight.
But what about alcohol? The only thing they offer for free is a Mai Tai. Beer and wine is available for purchase.
Additional snacks and beverages are available for purchase. It won’t be cheap though, so I highly recommend bringing your own.
In-flight entertainment
The Hawaiian Airlines A321neos are the only aircraft in the fleet (other than the 717 – which only does inter-island flying) that do not have video screens. That’s a fairly significant omission for an aircraft that only does 5 hour flights between the US mainland and Hawaii IMHO.
They did not omit the free Starlink high speed Internet access for all though. The A321neos have this, and it’s very good.
Despite the lack of in-seat video screens, the complementary streaming in-flight entertainment system is one of the better ones that I’ve experienced lately.
I especially liked the extensive catalog of Hawaiian themed music. At the very least, it helped me hang onto Island culture for a few more hours.
The lavatory
One of the downsides to having a seat in Extra Comfort (which is located in the forward section of the main cabin) is that you will be required to use the economy class lavatories. The cabin crew was very strict about keeping economy passengers from using the first class lavatory upfront.
There is one lavatory located mid cabin though, so it won’t always be necessary to go all the way to the back for a wee.
Seat and cabin comfort
The thing that I liked that the best about this experience? It wasn’t the extra legroom. It was the softness (and perhaps the shape) of the seat. It’s the exact same seat you’ll find back in economy class, but it didn’t make my back hurt like the ones on the A330-200 do.
Seat recline isn’t significant enough to be labeled “extra” IMHO. As far as I could tell, these Extra Comfort seats recline the same amount as the standard economy class seats.
The descent and arrival to San Diego
It was a fairly smooth flight all the way across the Pacific, and we began the descent into San Diego just after 8 PM local time. No fuss. No turbulence. No drama.
Touchdown on runway 27 was at 9:04 PM. The scheduled arrival time was 8:55 PM, so they didn’t miss the mark by all that much.
Hawaiian Airlines A321neo Extra Comfort pros and cons
I usually have a hard time justifying paying more for a standard economy class seat with extra legroom being the only added perk. Especially since I’m not tall enough to need that extra legroom.
But this one is easy. Flying out to the islands and back is considered a special thing for me, and I’m willing to pay more to make it a marginally better experience. You may or may not agree. I’m cool with that.
Pros
- I genuinely find the Extra Comfort seats on the A321neo to be the most comfortable Extra Comfort seats on any Hawaiian Airlines aircraft.
- The high speed Starlink Internet access is fast – and free!
- It’s a really nice looking cabin IMHO. Sorta premium(ish).
Cons
- They serve the exact same food that you’ll get back in economy class.
- Alcohol (other than one free Mai Tai) is only available for purchase.
- No video screens.
- Extra Comfort passengers aren’t allowed to use the first class lavatory, so making your way back to the aft lavatories might be a bit of a challenge if it’s a flight full of cheery Mai Tai drinkers.
