Hawaiian Airlines to close exclusive Apartment 1929 lounge in Honolulu

EXCLUSIVE INTERVIEW | Hawaiian Airlines will soon shutter its private Apartment 1929 lounge in Honolulu. The exclusive space is currently part of the airline’s Premium Airport Service offering. Here, not even the most expensive First Class tickets grant entry. It’s a place where those willing to pay extra can remain secluded before being whisked to their gate.

But a lot has changed at Hawaiian Airlines since its merger with Alaska Airlines. Not only is Hawaiian now planning to join the oneworld Alliance and dial-back its Virgin Australia partnership, but the merger brings with it a new on-ground strategy as well. This includes a rethink of the lounge offerings at Hawaiian’s main Honolulu hub.

I catch up with two Hawaiian Airlines representatives to learn about the fate of Apartment 1929. Today, I’m joined by:

• Andrew Stanbury, Hawaiian Airlines’ Managing Director of International and North America Sales, and
• Marissa Villegas, Senior Specialist, External Communications at Hawaiian Airlines.

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Hawaiian’s Apartment 1929 lounge to close this month

Villegas provides a clear date for when Hawaiian’s Apartment 1929 will meet its fate. ‘As part of our strategy, we will sunset our Premium Airport Service on March 14,’ she says. That includes Apartment 1929.

Instead, Hawaiian plans ‘to focus on delivering an elevated lounge strategy, including a brand-new Honolulu lounge that will feature premium food and beverage offerings.’ Still, the lounge being referred to won’t open until late 2027.

As for Apartment 1929, it’s not being closed due to a lack of interest from those who use it. Stanbury says that ‘every bit of feedback I get about it is super positive, (and) that it’s a genuinely premium experience.’ Villegas adds that ‘premium experience is such a focus across the combined carriers.’ But it’s understood that the direction of that focus has shifted to spaces accessible to a broader base of travellers, not just VIPs.

‘The intention is to keep that space, Apartment 1929,’ Villegas continues. ‘The space isn’t going away. (But) I think it will likely be used as part of the portfolio of premium lounge options for guests.’ Currently, ‘they’re trying to reenvision it to be a part of the lounge footprint that Alaska Air Group is really investing in.’

With Apartment 1929 directly adjacent to Hawaiian’s Plumeria Lounge, might Plumeria shift into the nicer quarters currently reserved for the private lounge? ‘Plumeria is not going away,’ Villegas confirms. But there could be ‘upgrades to existing lounge spaces, and then looking at where are there are opportunities to bring on a new lounge space on the (new) Mauka Concourse. There’s a lot of really deep thinking going on into what that could and will look like.’

Also read: Hawaiian Airlines eyes codeshare deal with Qantas

All photography by Chris Chamberlin for Point Hacks.