On Presidents’ Day, I had an 8:00 AM flight from Salt Lake City to Honolulu with Hawaiian Airlines. After boarding, we were told there was an engine problem.

In the morning, ground staff explicitly assured us the plane would depart around 8 PM, so I didn’t rebook to another airline, trusting their updates, we were told a technician was coming (but the tech didn’t arrive until around 9 PM), and the crew timed out twice during the delay. After about 14 hours, the flight was canceled around 10 PM.

By then I had basically wasted an entire day at the airport, going back and forth and through security twice while waiting for updates. After the cancellation, the only option offered was a next-day connecting flight via Alaska, which completely disrupted my plans.

Even getting a refund was a hassle. Because I booked the flights separately (not as a round trip), It actually took three separate phone calls before they finally processed the refund.

When I emailed Hawaiian Airlines to complain, their response was basically that because the flight was canceled, they wouldn’t provide any compensation. I asked to escalate the case, and never received any reply.

Overall, the communication, delay handling, and customer service from Hawaiian Airlines were extremely disappointing.

A terrible travel experience that shows how bad Hawaiian Airlines can be