So you’ve booked your flight on Hawaiian Airlines and you’re connecting to another carrier. What happens to your luggage?

The answer depends on your ticket. If all your flights on multiple carriers are on the same ticket, your bags will be checked through to your final destination. If you’re flying different carriers on different tickets, you may have to collect your bags at connecting airports and check them in for your next flight.

That’s it in a nutshell. For more details, read on.

 

If You’re Flying Different Carriers on the Same Ticket …

Good news: Hawaiian Airlines has interline and codeshare agreements with 30 domestic and international airlines that let you fly multiple carriers on the same ticket. That means you’ll connect efficiently into and out of Hawaiian Airlines’ network—and so will your luggage. Just check in your bags at your first airport and collect them at your final destination. Hawaiian Airlines Reservations will be happy to assist you in booking an interline connecting ticket.

Don’t forget that our partner airlines also market Hawaiian-operated flights within the State of Hawaii under their own airline’s code, so you’ll get easy connections on a single ticket that way, too.

And be sure to check your connecting times. If your connection between interline partner airlines is longer than 4 hours for domestic flights and longer than 24 hours for international flights, it’s considered a stopover and you’ll need to collect your bags and recheck them for your next flight. If you have a separate ticket for a connecting flight, please check in with an airport agent at your point of origin. Hawaiian Airlines will only through-check bags to other airline flights if the other airline segments are on the same ticket. 

Now, about baggage fees: The fees and rules of the first carrier on your ticket apply throughout your itinerary. For example, if you’re traveling roundtrip from Honolulu, Hawaii to Austin, Texas, and connecting from Hawaiian Airlines to United Airlines, Hawaiian Airlines baggage fees and rules apply to all flights on that ticket.

You’ll find baggage rules and charges for our interline partner carriers at these links: 

 

If You’re Flying Different Carriers on Separate Tickets …

We understand that sometimes you have to book different portions of your journey on different airlines using separate tickets. When this happens, we cannot ensure there’ll be a long enough connection time to transfer your bags to your next flight. That leads to misconnected bags, which is not a good thing for anyone. 

If you’re booked on separate tickets with another airline connecting to Hawaiian Airlines, please collect your bags from the baggage claim at your connection airport and re-check them with a Hawaiian Airlines agent. At that time, baggage fees may apply.

We’ve worked hard to streamline the check-in process at our Honolulu hub, and we hope you’ll find it quick and hassle-free. But do verify the recommended check-in times for the flight to which you are connecting, and give yourself ample time to re-check your bags and clear security.

 

Frequently Asked Questions: 

I booked two separate flights on Hawaiian Airlines. One reservation was made for Los Angeles to Honolulu and another for Honolulu to Kauai. Will I be able to through-check my baggage to my final destination? 

Yes. Our airport customer service agents will happily check your baggage through to your final destination, assuming that your flights comply with our rules for minimum connecting times. Please allow yourself additional time to check-in, get through security and arrive at the gate in-time for boarding. 

Note: You will not be able to through-check your baggage using our airport kiosk, mobile site or website.    

Is this a change in the airline’s policies?

No. Based on Department of Transportation regulations, our contract of carriage states that our responsibility for baggage is limited to the origin and destination on a guest’s Hawaiian Airlines ticket. We are now simply enforcing a longstanding term in our contract of carriage. 

For more information, please visit our Domestic Contract of Carriage / International Contract of Carriage