How to Fly Standby on Hawaiian Airlines

Hawaiian Airlines Standby at a Glance:

• If your flight is cancelled or delayed, Hawaiian Airlines will allow you to standby for a later flight for free.
• Hawaiian Airlines allows free standby for elite HawaiianMiles members and corporate customers for earlier flights to neighboring islands.
• HawaiianMiles elite members can request to standby for a free seat upgrade at check-in.
• Hawaiian Airlines employees, family, and friends can standby for free or low-cost flights as a benefit of employment.

Hawaiian Airlines Standby at a Glance:

• If your flight is cancelled or delayed, Hawaiian Airlines will allow you to standby for a later flight for free.
• Hawaiian Airlines allows free standby for elite HawaiianMiles members and corporate customers for earlier flights to neighboring islands.
• HawaiianMiles elite members can request to standby for a free seat upgrade at check-in.
• Hawaiian Airlines employees, family, and friends can standby for free or low-cost flights as a benefit of employment.

Standby for Cancelled or Delayed Flights on Hawaiian Airlines

If you miss a flight because of involuntary reasons (you showed up on time, but the flight was cancelled or delayed), Hawaiian Airlines will try to confirm a seat for you on another flight. If the flights are booked, you can opt for standby instead. You’ll be placed on the standby list according to priority (full fare and elite status passengers before discount fare passengers, etc.). You may have to wait for more than one flight before a seat is available.

If you are forced to standby for a later flight, make friends with the customer service agents and ask them about the chances of securing a seat – it may be better to re-schedule your trip. You’re probably a little stressed out at this point, but being nice to the customer service and gate agents can go a LONG way toward getting you onto a flight sometime in the near future.

Standby for Same Day Flight Changes (Earlier Neighboring Island Flights Only)

Hawaiian Airlines allows Pualani Gold and Platinum HawaiianMiles members, as well as corporate customers with flights booked through Hawaiian’s corporate web portal, to standby for earlier flights to neighboring islands on the day of departure. There are no extra fees for standby flights.

Exceptions of note are booking class O and inter-island web special fares (OWEB, OXOWEB, and ZWEB), which are not eligible for standby, including for Pualani Platinum, Pualani Gold and corporate customers.

See our guide to Hawaiian Airline booking classes

How to Request Same-Day Standby (Neighboring Islands Only)

The procedures to request same-day standby from Hawaiian Airlines vary depending on whether or not you have a bag to check. Be aware that if you’ve already checked a bag or the flight leaves in less than 30 minutes, you won’t be able to request standby.

If you’re checking a bag, go to the Hawaiian Airlines customer service counter and give the agent the flight number you’d like to standby for.  Have your bag tag updated with the new standby flight information.  Go to the gate of the standby flight. If you aren’t seated on the earlier flight, your old reservation on the later flight is still confirmed.

If you won’t be taking checked baggage, check-in online or at an airport kiosk for your originally scheduled flight.  Before you go through security, notify a Hawaiian Airlines customer service agent that you would like to standby for an earlier flight and provide the flight number.  Confirm on the standby monitor that you are on the standby list for the correct flight.  Your original reservation will be kept in place unless you are able to successfully board the earlier flight.

Standby for Free Seat Upgrade

Hawaiian Airlines allows elite HawaiianMiles members (Pualani Platinum and Gold) to request free seat upgrades at check-in. For North America and international flights, elite members can request to upgrade from Main Cabin to Extra Comfort. For Hawaii island flights, elite members can request to upgrade from Main Cabin to Preferred (Gold or Platinum) or First Class (Platinum) seats.

Hawaiian Airlines Employee Travel / Standby

Hawaiian Airlines offers free employee travel and extends benefits to friends and family via Buddy Passes.